In-it-together savings goal feature

ABSTRACT

Computer implemented systems and methods are disclosed involving technological advancements in the processing of electronic transaction processing. A system may comprise a networked environment including heterogeneous or homogenous payment processing systems. A centrally accessible server machine storing an automatic savings program module and rules controls the generation and dissemination of new transactions derived from incoming transactions. Moreover, the networked system may be used to control authorization of electronic transactions in a near real-time manner. The networked system may be used to distribute a financial health of a user in a user-friendly, mobile form factor.

This application is a continuation-in-part that claims priority to U.S.application Ser. No. 14/844,875, filed Sep. 3, 2015, which is hereinincorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Computer implemented systems and methods are disclosed involvingtechnological advancements in the processing of electronic transactionprocessing. A system may comprise a networked environment includingheterogeneous or homogenous payment processing systems. Moreover, thenetworked system may be used to control authorization of electronictransactions in a near real-time manner. The networked system may beused to distribute a financial health of a user in a user-friendly,mobile form factor.

BACKGROUND

Consumers sometimes feel that saving money is difficult. Those who earnless or are supporting a family may find it particularly challenging toput money away for emergencies, a child's education, or a specialpurchase. Even affluent consumers sometimes feel that they should savemore money. A consumer can save funds in a bank account by makingdeposits into the account or by transferring funds from another account.In addition, grandparents or other relatives or friends sometimes desireto contribute money to somebody else's (e.g., a grandchild's) savingsaccount. Nevertheless, there remains room for technological improvementsin systems and methods for automatically facilitating and/or encouragingsavings.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in orderto provide a basic understanding of some aspects. It is not intended toidentify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate thescope of the invention. The following summary merely presents someconcepts of the disclosure in a simplified form as a prelude to the moredetailed description provided below.

Computer implemented systems and methods are disclosed involvingtechnological advancements in the processing of electronic transactionprocessing. A system may comprise a networked environment includingheterogeneous or homogenous payment processing systems. A centrallyaccessible server machine storing an automatic savings program moduleand rules controls the generation and dissemination of new transactionsderived from incoming transactions. Moreover, the networked system maybe used to control authorization of electronic transactions in a nearreal-time manner. The networked system may be used to distribute afinancial health of a user in a user-friendly, mobile form factor.

A computer implemented system and method are disclosed of processing afinancial transaction that includes determining an automatic savingsamount and rewards amount payments. The system may comprises a checkingaccount, a savings account, an account of a merchant, and one or morecomputer systems including a communication interface, processor, andmemory storing computer-executable instructions. The rewards amount maybe calculated based on various techniques.

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to automated funds transferand bonus payments associated with an account.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitedin the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 shows an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flowchart depicting various steps performed inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 5 shows an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart depicting an enrollment method inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6B illustrates a flowchart depicting an additional enrollmentmethod in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of accumulated savingsfor selective distribution in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of additional savingsnotifications in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of a savings goalindicator in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of merchant orproduct based savings in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of frictionlesssavings in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of discount savingsin accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates a flowchart depicting a posting method in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates a flowchart depicting a method of matching savingsin accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 depicts a graphic user interface depicting a method ofenrollment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 depicts a graphic user interface depicting a further method ofenrollment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 17 depicts an example savings message type packet in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 18 depicts a graphic user interface depicting a further method ofenrollment in an investment savings program in accordance with aspectsof the disclosure.

FIG. 19 shows an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 20 shows an illustrative operating environment incorporating anenhanced cache memory in which various aspects of the disclosure may beimplemented.

FIG. 21 shows an illustrative operating environment incorporating ashared cache memory coupled to a central server farm in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 22 illustrates interactions between components in a homogenoussystem where an automated savings program is provided for regular debitcard transactions.

FIG. 23 illustrates interactions between components in a heterogeneoussystem where an automated savings program is provided for electronicfinancial transactions.

FIG. 24 illustrates interactions between components in a networkedsystem where an automated savings program with an enhanced cache memoryis provided for electronic financial transactions, includingperson-to-person transactions.

FIG. 25 shows one example of an illustrative portion of an automatedsaving table stored in computer memory accessible to a central servercomputer.

FIG. 26 illustrates interactions between components in a heterogeneoussystem in which a supervisory user manages real-time authorization ordenial of electronic financial transactions requested by a junior user,including other aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 27 depicts a graphic user interface of an illustrative smartwatchdevice in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 28 illustrates interactions between components in a networkedsystem in which a user receives notifications related to an automatedsavings program, including other aspects disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Aspects of the disclosure generally relate to an innovative networkarchitecture that enables the seamless connectivity of an automatedsavings program to an existing network of transactional systems. In oneembodiment, the transactional system may comprise a plurality ofhomogenous computer systems belonging to a single entity. In otherembodiments, the transactional system may comprise heterogeneouscomputer systems belonging to a plurality of entities. The seamlessconnectivity may permit universal sign-on and/or enrollment to anautomatic savings program. The connectivity is seamless, in someembodiments, because an existing transactional system might not nativelyinclude an automatic savings program, but the innovative networkarchitecture enables a computer server configured with an automaticsavings program to interface with the existing transactional system. Inone embodiment, the interface may be through a web service thatintegrates into an existing network of transactional system. In anotherembodiment, the interface may be through overloading of method calls ofobjects in an existing transactional system.

The transactional systems may comprise a debit network, a creditnetwork, an online billpay network, a person-to-person payment network,a digital wallet, a cypto-currency network, and/or any other paymentnetwork. Moreover, the networked system may be used to controlauthorization of electronic transactions in a near real-time manner. Thenetworked system may be used to distribute a financial health of a userin a user-friendly, mobile form factor.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, a method andsystem for enhanced automatic savings is disclosed. In one embodiment,computer implemented systems and methods are disclosed for processing afinancial transaction that may include determining an automatic savingsamount, providing notifications of savings updates, and providingpayments as a reward for savings. The system includes computing systemsthat operate to process transactions associated with various types ofaccounts. Examples of such accounts may include a checking account, asavings account, a merchant account, and investment account, and one ormore computer systems and mobile devices including a communicationinterface, processor, memory storing computer-executable instructions,and savings modules. The system further includes computing systems thatoperate to determine reward amounts based on automatic savings. Therewards amount may be calculated based on various techniques.

In one embodiment, a computer implemented savings program automaticallygenerates a monetary amount (e.g., a savings amount) from each financialtransaction by a user of a bank or other financial institution anddeposits the savings amount in the user's or somebody else's savingsaccount; thus the user can accumulate savings conveniently andpainlessly. In addition, automated loan payments, and automatedcontributions to charitable and charitable-like (e.g., environmentalfunds) organizations may be made in a similar fashion.

In another embodiment, a computer implemented savings programautomatically generates a savings amount from each financial transactionby a user of a bank or other financial institution, determines when alevel of savings is reached, notifies a user of the savings amount, andprovides an interface presenting input elements for the user to selectwhere the savings amount should be deposited.

In one embodiment, a computer implemented savings program automaticallygenerates a savings amount from each financial transaction by a user ofa bank or other financial institution. In addition, the savings programmonitors the user's saving progress and may present the user with anoption to add additional savings which are deposited in the user's orsomebody else's savings account.

In another embodiment, a computer implemented savings programautomatically generates a savings amount from each financial transactionby a user of a bank or other financial institution and notifies a useras to the user's progress towards a saving goal once a level of savingsis reached or a certain time period has elapsed.

In another embodiment, a computer implemented savings programautomatically generates a savings amount from each financial transactionby a user of a bank or other financial institution based on comparabletransaction amounts for matched products or merchants.

In another embodiment, a computer implemented savings programautomatically generates a savings amount from each financial transactionby a user of a bank or other financial institution based on discountsprovided by merchants.

In one embodiment, a computer implemented savings program automaticallygenerates a savings amount from each financial transaction by a user ofa bank or other financial institution. In addition, the savings programmonitors the user's saving progress and adjusts the automatic savingmethods to keep the user on track to reach their savings goal.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable computing system environment100 that may be used according to one or more illustrative embodimentsof the disclosure. The computing system environment 100 is only oneexample of a suitable computing environment and is not intended tosuggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of thedisclosure. The computing system environment 100 should not beinterpreted as having any dependency or requirement relating to any oneor combination of components illustrated in the exemplary computingsystem environment 100.

The disclosure is operational with numerous computing systemenvironments or configurations. Examples of computing systems,environments, and/or configurations that may be suitable for use withthe disclosure include, but are not limited to, personal computers,server computers, hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmable consumerelectronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,distributed computing environments that include any of the above systemsor devices, and the like that have been programmed with particularinstructions to carry out one or more of the functional aspectsdescribed in further detail below either individually or in conjunctionwith one another.

The disclosure may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer. Generally, program modules include routines,programs, objects, components, data structures, and the like thatperform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types.The disclosure may also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotecomputer storage media including memory storage devices.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, computer implemented systems forprocessing enhanced automatic savings are shown. The computing systemenvironment 100 may include a computing device 101 having a processor103 for controlling overall operation of the computing device 101 andits associated components, including RAM 105, ROM 107, communicationsmodule 109, and memory 115. Computing device 101 typically includes avariety of computer readable media. Computer readable media may be anyavailable media that may be accessed by computing device 101 and includeboth volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media.By way of example, and not limitation, computer readable media maycomprise computer storage media and communication media. Computerstorage media includes volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM),electronically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flashmemory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD)or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium that can be used to store the desired information and that can beaccessed by computing device 101. Communication media typically embodiescomputer readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data in a modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or othertransport mechanism and includes any information delivery media.Modulated data signal is a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia includes wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media. Combinations of any of the above should also be includedwithin the scope of computer readable media. Although not shown, RAM 105may include one or more are applications representing the applicationdata stored in RAM memory 105 while the computing device is on andcorresponding software applications (e.g., software tasks), are runningon the computing device 101.

With reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, communications module 109 mayinclude a microphone, keypad, touch screen, and/or stylus through whicha user of computing device 101 may provide input, and may also includeone or more of a speaker for providing audio output and a video displaydevice for providing textual, audiovisual and/or graphical output.Software may be stored within memory 115 and/or storage to provideinstructions to processor 103 for enabling computing device 101 toperform various functions. For example, memory 115 may store softwareused by the computing device 101, such as an operating system 117,application programs 119, and an associated database 121. Alternatively,some or all of the computer executable instructions for computing device101 may be embodied in hardware or firmware (not shown). As described indetail below, the database 121 may provide centralized storage ofaccount information and account holder information for the entirebusiness, allowing interoperability between different elements of thebusiness residing at different physical locations.

With reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5, computing device 101 mayoperate in a networked environment supporting connections to one or moreremote computing devices, such as branch terminals 141 and 151,point-of-sale (POS) device 162, ATM 163, retail locations 164, 165, and166, personal computer 161, smartphone 171, tablet 181, and smartwatch191. The branch computing devices 141 and 151 may be personal computingdevices or servers that include many or all of the elements describedabove relative to the computing device 101. Moreover, as with POS 162,branch terminals 141 and 151, smartphone 171, or tablet 181 may be POSdevices coupled to a computer server (e.g., a computer system operatedby a bank or other financial institution) via a network (e.g., one ormore routers or computer systems, a computer system operated by theissuer of the credit card or debit card/check card used to make apurchase, and the like) for receiving financial account information(e.g., a credit card reader, debit card reader, check scanner, onlinebill pay interface, and the like). The POS devices listed above may beelectronic cash registers that include barcode reader 192 that is usedto read barcodes on products and to automatically enter the products andprices into POS. POS devices may further include a card reader 111 thatreads account information from a credit card, debit card, or any othertype of financial device that can be used to purchase an item. POSdevices may include other devices, such as a keypad, that can also beused to read account information for facilitating a transaction. In oneembodiment, POS devices may be located at a retailer.

The network connections depicted in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 include a localarea network (LAN) 125 and a wide area network (WAN) 129, but may alsoinclude other networks. When used in a LAN networking environment,computing device 101 is connected to the LAN 125 through a networkinterface or adapter in the communications module 109. When used in aWAN networking environment, the server 101 may include a modem in thecommunications module 109 or other means for establishing communicationsover the WAN 129, such as the Internet. It will be appreciated that thenetwork connections shown are illustrative and other means ofestablishing a communications link between the computing devices may beused. Communications module 109 may further include a near fieldcommunications device (NFC), infrared, or short range wireless devices,such as Bluetooth. The existence of any of various well-known protocolssuch as TCP/IP, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP and the like is presumed, and thesystem can be operated in a client-server configuration to permit a userto retrieve web pages from a web-based server. Any of variousconventional web browsers can be used to display and manipulate data onweb pages.

Additionally, an application program 119 used by the computing device101 according to an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure mayinclude computer executable instructions for invoking user functionalityrelated to communication, such as email, short message service (SMS),and voice input and speech recognition applications.

In reference to FIG. 5, computer system 101 may include additionalsavings module 843A, savings goal module 944A, merchant product module1045A, frictionless savings module 1146A, discount savings module 1238A,or selective distribution module 1242A. These modules may carry outsavings programs as described in aspects of the present disclosure forhelping users achieve their savings goals. Additionally, personalcomputer 161, smartphone 171, tablet 181, smartwatch 191, computersystem 151 and computer system 141 may also have additional savingsmodule 843B, savings goal module 944B, merchant product module 1045B,frictionless savings module 1146B, discount savings module 1238B, orselective distribution module 1242B as shown at personal computer 161,but which have been omitted from smartphone 171, tablet 181, smartwatch191, computer system 151 and computer system 141 in FIG. 5 for the sakeof clarity.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a method is contemplatedto enhance the ability to save money. In one embodiment, the methodpermits a debit card holder to save as that individual makes everydaypurchases. For example, when the debit card holder uses the debit cardto make a purchase, the transaction amount for each purchase may beincreased to the next integer dollar amount if the transaction is notalready an integer dollar amount. If the transaction amount is alreadyan integer value, under alternative embodiments in accordance withaspects of the disclosure, the transaction amount may still be increasedto the next greater integer value, or alternatively, remain unchanged.The difference between the actual amount and the increased amount istransferred from the holder's checking account to another account (e.g.,a savings account); thus, creating an interest-paying virtual changejar. The aforementioned approach of increasing the transaction amountmay be referenced in this disclosure as “the increasing approach.” Oneskilled in the art will appreciate after review of the presentdisclosure that other triggering events/acts and other techniques fordetermining a savings amount to transfer are contemplated.

Continuing with the above example, the account holder can receive anadditional bonus or match money to encourage use of the savings program.For example, the bonus or match money may be in the form of interestthat would be in addition to the interest the holder would normally earnin an interest-bearing account. For example, at the end of the year, theholder's financial institution may match the transferred savings at 100%for the first 3 months and 5% thereafter. The holder may continue toreceive this 5% match reward of the transferred savings each year aroundthe anniversary date. This bonus or match money may be capped, forexample, up to a predetermined amount of money (e.g., $250). One skilledin the art will appreciate after review of the entirety disclosed hereinthat the disclosure contemplates other techniques for matching orproviding a bonus. For example, one of numerous variations contemplatedby the disclosure includes providing different percentage/amount ofinterest yield during a particular time period.

Disclosed herein are various techniques that may be implemented in anautomated savings program as well as various aspects of such anautomated savings program. First, the process for user eligibility formatching and enrollment is disclosed. Second, various aspects of savingsare disclosed (e.g., calculating the amount, when the amount istransferred, saving for other purposes, credit card transactions, andthe like). Third, techniques are disclosed to protect againstpotentially exceeding the account balance. Finally, various techniquesare disclosed for providing a match or bonus. Those skilled in the artwill appreciate that any combination of these techniques and aspects maybe implemented.

A financial institution may offer the aforementioned financialproduct/method to new account holders or prospective account holders. Inone aspect of the eligibility/enrollment process, based upon usersegmentation (e.g., user account status-regular, premium, platinum,gold, and the like; debt card usage-low, moderate, high; and the like),the financial institution may offer varying aspects and/or levels (e.g.,higher matching levels, minimum balance requirements, and the like) offinancial product/methods to account holders. In another aspect of theeligibility/enrollment process, an account holder may be able todiscontinue (i.e., dis-enroll) from the savings program through onlineand/or other (e.g., telephone, in-person, and the like) methods.Moreover, the account holder may dis-enroll temporarily, for example, toavoid exceeding the account balance. In some instances, a financialinstitution may configure the automated savings amount transfers suchthat if the source account balance is below a predefined threshold(e.g., $10) amount, then the automatic savings amount transfers aretemporarily deactivated. As such, during the temporary deactivation, theaccount holder would not enjoy the benefit of automated savings andmatching/bonus. Additional features related to exceeding the accountbalance are also discussed later in this disclosure. In one example, thetemporary deactivation feature may be configurable by the account holderthrough an online interface (e.g., the financial institution's website).

Referring now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram of the functionality performedby computer system 101 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure in order to enroll a user in the automatic savings program isshown. The disclosures below will reference elements depicted in FIG. 1and FIG. 4.

In step 600, a customer of a financial institution requests enrollmentin an automatic savings program.

In step 602, account set-up and maintenance screens/interfaces areaccessed in response to a user request to enroll in the automaticsavings program. In one embodiment, the screens/interfaces are accessedby bank personnel at a terminal locally or remotely connected tocomputer system 101. In another embodiment, a user may access thescreens/interfaces at a terminal remotely connected to computer system101 through Internet. In another embodiment, the user may access thescreens/interfaces with any wireless device capable of connecting tocomputer system 101 through Internet, such as ATM 163, personal computer161, tablet 181, smartphone 171, or smartwatch 191.

In step 604, the checking account that is the source of the automaticsavings amount is selected. The eligible source accounts are displayedfrom the user's profile (step 605). In other embodiments, another typeof account instead of a checking account can be used, as long as theselected account is a source of funds.

In step 606, the types of debits/transactions that are to be “round up”are selected. “Round up” refers to one method used to calculate amonetary amount (e.g., savings amount) from a transaction. In oneembodiment, the round up amount is an amount of excess funds produced byapplying a rounder transaction to the amount of a transaction such as acredit/debit card charge at POS 162. If the rounder transaction roundsup to the nearest dollar, for example, a purchase made for $54.08 wouldgenerate a rounded amount of $0.92. Other embodiments of the presentdisclosure may round up to a predetermined amount besides the nearestdollar. Still further, other embodiments of the present disclosure maycalculate the savings amount using a method other than round up. Forexample, a fixed percentage can be applied to each transaction tocalculate a savings amount, or a fixed amount of money (e.g., $1.20) canbe considered the savings amount. The available debits/transaction typesto be round up are displayed (step 607) and can include check card/debitcard POS transactions, or any other types of debits. Examples of otherdebits that can be the subject of round up or other calculation of asavings amount include paper checks, electronic bill pay, electronicchecks, automatic payments and Automated Clearing House (“ACH”)transfers.

In step 608, the recipient account or accounts for the savings amountmay be selected based on the displayed eligible recipient accounts (step611) and preference option fields for the accounts can be inputted. Inone embodiment, possible recipient accounts include the user's ownrecipient account, person-to-person transfer (e.g., a grandparent'sround ups being credited to a grandchild's recipient account), and thelike. In general, any recipient account that can accept transfers can beeligible for selection. If multiple recipient accounts are selected, theuser can choose a percentage distribution for each of the recipientaccounts, or another mechanism that can be used to divide the savingsamount between the multiple accounts or create a preference for savingsbetween the accounts.

In step 610, goals may be selected for the recipient account oraccounts. In one embodiment, the computer system may present the userwith an option to input the user's desired financial goals (step 609).To determine the user's desired financial goals, the server may requestinformation from the user regarding the user's qualitative orquantitative goals, such as “buy a car,” “pay for child's collegeeducation” or “save $2,000.” The computer system can additionallyrequest a time frame to achieve this goal, and may also request theuser's income and expenditures, and any additional information that maybe relevant to ascertaining the appropriate savings method for the user.A separate goal can be selected for each recipient account if multiplerecipient accounts are selected for the program. The user may alsoselect intermediate goals for a recipient account to help the user stayon track for reaching their goal for the recipient account.

In step 612, notification services may be selected for the savingsaccounts. The computer system may display the notification options (step613).

In step 614, the user disclosures may be presented to the user to agreeto before enrollment as display notifications (step 613).

Referring to FIG. 15, a graphical user interface (GUI) of an embodimentof the present disclosure showing an enrollment interface for a user toenroll in a savings program is shown. In the example disclosed in FIG.15, a user may enroll in a savings program via a GUI interface. Inreference to FIG. 5, a GUI interface may be accessed via branchterminals 141 and 151, ATM 163, retail locations 164, 165, and 166,personal computer 161, smartphone 171, tablet 181, and smartwatch 191.

In step 1500, the user selects the source checking account via the GUIinterface.

In step 1502, the user selects the recipient savings account(s).

In step 1504, the user enters the savings goals for the recipientaccount(s).

In step 1506, the user selects the savings methods for the recipientaccount(s). The user may select one, or multiple savings methods asshown (step 1512). The enrollment program may also give projected timeframes for completing the user's savings goals (step 1514) based on atime frame and savings amount disclosed by the user (step 1504).Further, the enrollment GUI may also recommend particular savingsmethods based on the goals entered by the user (1516).

In step 1508, the user selects notifications for the savings methods, asdescribed more fully in reference to FIGS. 7-10 and 12.

In step 1510, the user is presented with terms and conditions and tofinalize the enrollment process.

In one embodiment, the savings amount (e.g., monetary amount) may betransferred from a first source account (e.g., any type of account aslong as it is a source of funds) to a recipient account (e.g., a moneymarket account, a savings account, and the like). In an alternativeembodiment, the savings amount may be transferred from a first sourceaccount to multiple recipient accounts. Such an alternative embodimentprovides additional flexibility of the savings program for the user.

In yet another embodiment, the savings amount may be applied againstoutstanding debt. For example, the savings amount may be used to paydown debt (e.g., mortgage, student loans, credit cards, and the like) asanother use of the money saved. Any matching (or bonus) amount may alsobe applied against outstanding debt. In another embodiment, therecipient account may be a retirement account (e.g., an IRA account,Roth IRA account, and the like).

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the savings amountautomatically transferred from an account holder's source account to arecipient account may be calculated based on one or more factors. Forexample, under an increasing approach a transaction amount may beincreased to the next highest integer value. Meanwhile, under anotherapproach, the transferred savings amount may be calculated by decreasingthe transaction amount to the previous lowest integer value if thetransaction is not already an integer dollar amount. If the transactionamount is already an integer value, under alternative embodiments inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure, the transaction amount maystill be decreased to the previous lowest integer value, oralternatively, remain unchanged. The aforementioned approach ofdecreasing the transaction amount may be referenced in this disclosureas “the decreasing approach.”

As further explained below, the decreasing approach may be useful in thecase of a savings program based on credit card transactions. In anotherexample, the savings amount may be a fixed amount (e.g., $1, $0.50, $5,and the like) per transaction. In yet another example, the total savingsamount for a period of time (e.g., a year) may be limited to apredefined maximum amount.

In an alternative embodiment, an account holder may customize (e.g.,through an online graphical user interface) the specifics of itsautomated savings program. For example, the user may configure, ataccount enrollment and thereafter, one or more various features of theautomated savings account discussed herein including, but not limitedto, the following: the source account(s), the recipient account(s), thesavings scheme (round-up, percentage amount, predetermined dollaramount, and the like), the aggressiveness of the savings scheme (e.g.,in the case of an increasing approach, the amount of transferredsavings), charitable savings, payment of exiting loans, or savings for aspecified purchase item. For example, a user may designate theincreasing approach to use the next highest $5 denomination. As such,the amount of transferred savings amount is greater. Likewise, theaggressiveness of the transferred savings amount may be controlled forother types of monetary amounts (e.g., savings amounts) disclosed hereinand contemplated by one of skill in the art after review of the entiretydisclosed herein. Such an embodiment provides customization of thesavings program for the user account. Such a computer system may sendinformation about user preferences/settings are used by an incentiveengine and/or provided to a parameter-based rules engine (e.g., anincentive engine that accepts different parameters to customize thematching/savings aspects for a user in accordance with various aspectsof the disclosure).

Each of the above-referenced customizable features may be implemented asa parameter for the user's accounts. In one example, once the user'saccount has configured for the customized automated savings program,values for the various parameters may be passed to the depositapplications. This information may be passed to deposit applications, inone example, as part of eligibility information. The depositapplications may thereby implement the user's customized savings programin accordance with the parameter values provided. The depositapplications may determine the transferred savings amount based on theparameter designated for the increasing approach ($5 denominations, $10denominations, and the like). These transferred savings amounts may beaggregated together for each account, and one debit may be charged tothe checking account. Referring to FIG. 2, if sufficient funds wereavailable, the transaction may post to the checking account (in step206) and a request for transfer to the recipient account is sent to acredit engine. The credit engine verifies the existence and status ofthe receiving account and creates a credit transaction for thetransferred savings amount to post in the next processing cycle. It willbe appreciated that the amount of customization that is afforded to theuser is proportional to the complexity of the system for the financialinstitution.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the transfer of thesavings amount from a source account to a recipient account may occur atvarious times and/or time intervals. For example, as described in oneembodiment in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/161,418 filed Aug. 2, 2005,which was previously incorporated by reference herein, the savingsamounts for all transaction in a day may be aggregated and a singletransfer may be performed daily. One skilled in the art will appreciateafter review of the present disclosure that the transfer operation mayoccur at various times (e.g., weekly, monthly, bi-weekly, bi-daily,annually, and the like). For example, the savings amount may betransferred in near real-time (i.e., a separate transaction fortransferring the savings amount for each transaction may be processedonce the triggering transaction has been received at computer system101.) As such, an account holder may find numerous transfers of savingsamounts occurring throughout a day instead of a single aggregatedtransfer.

Referring to FIG. 13, a flow diagram of the functionality performed bycomputer system 101 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention to perform a daily posting of the automatic investmenttransaction is shown.

In step 300, the aggregated round up debit transaction is posted.

In step 302, the credit transaction is created.

In step 304, a determination is made if the recipient account(s)selected at step 608 of FIG. 6 is valid. If it is valid, the credittransaction is posted (step 310).

In step 306, if the recipient account(s) is not valid at step 304, thecredit transaction is returned to the source account and a $0.00transaction is created with a status descriptor. A report of the invalidsource account is sent to an “exceptions & returns” file and enrollmentof the automatic investment account for that customer is terminated(steps 312, 314).

In step 316, monthly statements are generated that include the automaticinvestment function. Both the source and recipient accounts may displaya month-to-date and year-to-date summary of round up transfers on theirstatements.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, as eligibletransactions are received at the financial institution, they may beposted to the deposit account in a near real-time process. Varioustechniques may be used to calculate the transferred savings amount usingthe increasing approach. In one such technique, each transactionreceived by the deposit account may have its transferred savings amountunder the increasing approach calculated and posted at the time of thetransaction. The aforementioned transaction may be sent immediately to acredit engine. The credit engine may create a transaction which may besent immediately to a receiving account. Under another technique, eachtransaction received by the deposit account would have the transferredsavings amount using an increasing approach calculated and stored in abucket. During the end of day reconciliation, the stored value may becompared to the ending balance, and if the balance remains positive, atransaction may be posted to the deposit account. This amount will besent to a credit engine to perform the same process as in theaforementioned technique.

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the savings amount may beobtained automatically from one or more source accounts. For example, anaccount holder may designate a checking account at a financialinstitution as the source account. In another embodiment, the accountholder may designate more than one source account, for example, analternate source account in the event that an account containsinadequate funds. Alternatively, the savings amount may be sourced frommultiple accounts and the percentage to be taken from each account maybe designated (e.g., 25% from checking account A and 75% from checkingaccount B). Such an embodiment provides additional flexibility of thesavings program for the user.

In accordance with various embodiments of the disclosure, the savingsamount may be transferred to a recipient account. The recipient account(e.g., savings account) may be a high interest yield account designatedfor such a savings program. In some embodiments, the recipient accountmay be configured such that the account holder may not be able towithdraw the transferred savings amount from the recipient accountbefore a predefined period of time (e.g., one year) without incurringadditional charges. As such, the savings account encourages the accountholder to save money and earn a higher interest yield.

In an alternative embodiment, the savings amount may be transferred froma first source account to multiple recipient accounts (e.g., a moneymarket account, a savings account, retirement account, and the like). Inyet another alternative embodiment, the multiple recipient accounts maybe owned by different people. Such an embodiment provides additionalflexibility of the savings program for the user. U.S. application Ser.No. 11/161,418 filed Aug. 2, 2005, which was previously incorporated byreference herein, lists numerous examples of recipient accountconfigurations.

In another embodiment, the savings amount may be applied againstoutstanding debt. For example, the savings amount may be used to paydown debt as another use of the money saved. Any matching (or bonus)amount may also be configured to be applied against outstanding debt.For example, instead of creating a deposit to the savings account, acredit generating system in communication with computer system 101 maycreate a payment to, for example, an associated credit card, a personalor business loan, a home mortgage or home equity loan, a car loan, astudent loan, and the like. Moreover, business rules may be formulatedand used to determine whether the payment is applied to interest orprinciple. In an embodiment where the savings amount is applied to anon-credit card debt, a similar technical implementation may be taken.For example, computer system 101 may submit a payment on behalf of theaccount holder to reduce the outstanding debt. Similar to the technicalsteps to create a transaction to pay down credit card debt as explainedherein, the automated payment of a student loan debt, car loan debt, andother debt vehicles perform accordingly. Rather, the transaction foreach type of debt vehicle may require formatting according to thereceiving system.

In yet another embodiment, the recipient account may be a retirementaccount (e.g., an IRA account, Roth IRA account, 401(k) account, and thelike). Alternatively, the recipient account may be a gift card accountwhere the account holder's savings are applied to a gift that he/she mayuse themselves or give to another as a gift. Alternatively, therecipient account may be a health savings account.

In yet another example, an automated savings program may allow anaccount holder to participate in a charitable program. In the exampleprovided with reference to FIG. 3, a user may enroll in a charitableprogram (step 1002) that draws additional funds through additionalcharges to debit purchases (step 1006), that is used to purchase anenvironmental initiative program (step 1014). By enrolling andparticipate in this environmental program, a financial institution addsa predetermined amount (e.g., $0.01) to the account holder's totalpurchase amount for each transaction (e.g., each time they use theirdebit card) (step 1006). One skilled in the art will appreciate that thefinancial institution has the option of offering differing amounts(e.g., amount higher (or lower) than 1¢ per transaction) to its accountholder; thereby creating more (or less) purchasing power to theenvironmental program. Such an embodiment provides additionalflexibility of the savings program for the user.

Next, in participating in a charitable program, the account holder maymake a purchase using a debit card (step 1004). This transaction is sentthrough a point-of-sale (POS) device, such as those described in U.S.application Ser. No. 11/161,418 filed Aug. 2, 2005, which was previouslyincorporated by reference herein, and the account holder may be chargedthe additional predetermined amount (step 1006). One skilled in the artwill appreciate that this fixed amount could be withdrawn from not onlydebit card transactions, but also credit card transactions, or otherpurchases completed by an equivalent account and/or card. When thepredetermined amount is withdrawn from the user and transferred to theenvironment program, the transfer transaction is received and recordedby a computer system at the financial institution (step 1008). In oneexample in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, the predeterminedamount may be routed to a separate, second environment fund (step 1010).The predetermined amounts from each of the users enrolled in the programmay be pooled together (step 1012). Following this, the pooled funds canbe paid to the environmental program (step 1014).

Another example, similar to the one described above, begins with anaccount holder selecting to contribute to an environmental program whichpurchases carbon offsets. This type of environmental program may givethe account holder a simple way to partially neutralize their carbonimpact and be part of a larger collective initiative. The account holdermay configure their participation in the program to add one cent (10) toeach of his/her debit card transactions. The account holder may thenmake a purchase of $1.50 using their debit card. The account holder maybe charged an additional 10 for a total of $1.51. The 1¢ may be routedto a separate account which will be used to purchase carbon offsets andmay be centrally pooled together with other account holdersparticipating in the environmental program. Finally, with these pooledfunds, carbon offsets may then be purchased. With a program such asthis, the account holders of a financial institution may be collectivelyresponsible for: negating the impact of 150,000 SUVs on the road for ayear, or protecting the equivalent of 4,800 football fields of tropicalrainforest from deforestation, or negating the impact of 1,000 residentsof each of the 50 states for a year.

In addition to the use of a debit card as disclosed in U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/161,418 filed Aug. 2, 2005, which was previouslyincorporated by reference, other events/acts may results in an automatictransfer occurring. For example, the use of a credit card in making apurchase may act as a trigger to cause the transfer of a savings amountfor the credit card holder. When the holder makes a purchase using acredit card associated with a financial institution, the purchasetransaction amount is decreased using a decreasing approach, actuallyreducing the amount the holder is charged. In some embodiments, thetransaction amount may be reduced by less than the aforementionedamount. In one example, the savings amount may be a fixed amount or apercentage of the savings amount.

In addition, the financial institution may transfer the differencebetween the amount of the transaction under a decreasing approach andthe actual transaction amount from the holder's checking account to asecond account. For example, User #1 uses a credit card to make apurchase for $10.25. The transaction amount charged to User #1 for thepurchase is decreased to $10. Moreover, the financial institution coversthe outstanding $0.25 on User #1's behalf as a bonus/matching amount.Furthermore, the bank transfers $0.25 (i.e., the bonus/matching amount)from User #1 checking account at the financial institution to hersavings account. As such, the financial institution facilitates asavings program for the account holder. In some embodiments, at the endof the year (or any other period of time), the financial institution mayyet again reward the card holder by matching a percentage (e.g., 100%,50%, and the like) of the transferred savings amounts. Alternatively,the card holder may be rewarded in many of the other ways as describedthroughout this disclosure. The card holder may choose to have thismatched/bonus amount applied against any credit card balance, or may bedeposited into any of the holder's accounts (e.g., checking, savings,and the like).

In another embodiment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, whenan account holder makes a purchase using a credit card associated with afinancial institution, the difference between the transaction amount andthe increased amount under an increasing approach is transferred fromthe holder's checking account to another account (e.g., a savingsaccount). For example, User #2 uses a credit card to make a purchase for$10.25. The transaction amount for the purchase remains $10.25.Meanwhile, the financial institution deposits $0.75 to a savings accountunder User #2's name as a bonus amount. As such, the financialinstitution facilitates a savings program for the account holder.

Furthermore, as described in U.S. application Ser. No. 11/161,418 filedAug. 2, 2005, which was previously incorporated by reference, a methodcontemplated to enhance a person's ability to save money may include afeature to protect and/or avoid exceeding the account balance. Such afeature designed to avoid exceeding the account balance may include, insome embodiments, a retroactive feature. In one example such a featureenables a financial institution to postpone the transfer of a savingsamount if the transfer would result in the holder's source accountexceeding its account balance. The financial institution may retry thepostponed transfer at a later time (e.g., after six hours has elapsed,after twelve hours has elapsed, and the like) and/or at regularintervals (e.g., daily, bi-daily, hourly, weekly, and the like). Forexample, the financial institution may predefine the maximum number ofretries (e.g., five retries) and the interval between each retry (e.g.,wait one day between each retry) to prevent a scenario where postponedtransfers are accrued and retried indefinitely. In yet another example,a portion of the savings amount may be applied without causing anegative account balance, while the remaining portion is postponed (orcancelled) as described in the aforementioned retroactive feature.

Alternatively, a feature designed to avoid exceeding the accountbalance, in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, may include anoption to designate a second source account to be used if a transfer ofthe savings amount from the first source account would cause it toexceed the account balance. The second source account may be of any typerecognized by one of skill in the art as a viable source of funds.Examples of such sources of funds are disclosed or suggested throughoutthis disclosure.

In yet another embodiment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure,a feature designed to avoid exceeding the account balance may include agrace period during which an account holder may remedy the situation ofexceeding the account balance. to avoid charges associated withexceeding the account balance. For example, an account holder maydeposit funds in an account before the close of the business day toeliminate any occurrences of exceeding the account balance that may havebeen caused earlier in the day due to transactions. In such a situation,the account holder may not be charged for exceeding the account balance(or may be charged only a reduced amount or percentage of the normal feefor exceeding the account balance).

In accordance with aspects of the disclosure, a computer system may beused as a base to implement one or more aspects of the feature designedto avoid exceeding the account balance. Accounts that have a negativeaccount balance may have the daily (or other time interval) transactioncorresponding to the transfer savings amount added to a retry file witha counter for the number of days (or other time interval) thetransaction can be reapplied. The computer system 101 may allow thefinancial institution to save these files and check the accounts foravailable funds for a period of time. The transactions from the retryfile may be included with the next processing day's posting items. Ifthe account has a negative account balance, the retry counter may bedecremented by one and the transaction may be re-added to the retryfile. If the account does not have a negative account balance, theaforementioned transactions may be passed forward for processing tocreate the savings credit. The computer system 101 may input the savingscredit into a deposit system for a processing cycle.

Referring to FIG. 14, a flow diagram of the functionality performed by acomputing system 101 in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure to implement a matching process in conjunction with thesavings program is shown.

In step 400, during the daily posting process of FIG. 14, or at anotherpoint in the process (e.g., quarterly, annually, and the like), thecustomer data file for the automatic investment program is pulled. Thedata file stores all transactions eligible for matching and other data,such as the length of enrollment for the user, which can be used todetermine if the user has met the matching incentive criteria.

In step 402, the computing system determines if the user has met thematching incentive criteria. If not, the matching process is ended(408).

In step 404, if the user meets the matching incentive at step 402, thematching funds credit transaction is calculated. The matching funds arethen posted to the recipient account (406).

Referring to FIG. 2, a system and method are disclosed for providingpayments as a reward for savings. In one example, the matching (i.e.,bonus) paid to the account holder (in step 214) may be based on one ormore factors. For example, as described in one embodiment in U.S.application Ser. No. 11/161,418 filed Aug. 2, 2005, which was previouslyincorporated by reference herein, the financial institution (in step218) may offer to match the transferred savings amount under theincreasing approach (or savings amount under other approaches) byproviding $0.05 for every transaction. In another example, the financialinstitution (in step 218) may offer $1.00 (or any other predefinedamount) for every transaction (e.g., debit card purchase, credit cardpurchase, and the like). The matching may be provided for only apredetermined period of time, for example, during the first six monthsof enrolling in the program/product. Furthermore, the matching may be abased on a percentage of the transferred savings amount (e.g.,100%-dollar for dollar, or 50%-50 cents to the dollar, and the like).Computer system 101 may verify that an account holder is eligible (insteps 208, 210, and/or 212) for matching/bonus before crediting thematch amount to the account holder's recipient account.

In yet another embodiment in accordance with aspects of the disclosure,the matching/bonus amount may be a predetermined amount provided at aregular interval. For example, a $100 may be automatically transferredfrom an account holder's checking account to a savings account. The $100transferred savings amount may be entitled to the same (or more or less,as would be apparent to one skilled in the art after review of thepresent disclosure) of a match/bonus as other savings amountstransferred into the account. For example, under a segmented approach,transferred savings amounts from debit card (or credit card) use may beentitled to full matching, while transferred savings amount from anautomatic monthly transfer may be entitled to half matching. Inaddition, the period of time during which the account holder may qualifyfor matching on the different types of transferred savings amounts mayalso vary (e.g., the automatic monthly transfers are eligible formatching for only three months, while the other type may be eligible forsix months). In another embodiment, the matching may require that thetotal balance on the account is growing month after month. In yetanother embodiment, the account holder may be required to maintain aminimum balance in an account (e.g., checking and/or savings) to beeligible for matching/bonus.

In yet another embodiment, the total amount of matching/bonus for agiven period of time (e.g., one year) may be limited to a predefinedmaximum value. Alternatively, the number of transactions eligible formatching during a given time period (e.g., a day) may be limited to apredefined maximum number.

In reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, in another example, the match/bonusmay be based (in step 208) on a balance tier system (i.e., the amount ofbalance in a holder's account may categorize them into different tierswith varying matching/bonus levels). An incentive engine executing in acomputer system 101 (e.g., using processor 103) may receive theappropriate balance total from a deposit system. The received balancetotal may be a pre-calculated value that the computer system 101 may usewithout further intensive processing. Alternatively, the receivedbalance total may be calculated at computer system 101 in numerous waysin accordance with aspects of the disclosure: a multi-month movingaverage, monthly average, current balance, average daily balance overthe prior 12 months, average daily balance over the last 30 days,balance at the time the matching/bonus amount is calculated (i.e., thebalance in the account on the date when the, e.g., debit card purchaseoccurred), minimum balance during the prior 30 days, average over thelast 90 days, and the like The incentive engine may comprise ofcomputer-executable instructions used to determine the match level basedon this calculated balance. The incentive engine may access (e.g., inmemory 115) a table with information about match level and the balancetotal corresponding to that match level. At least one technical benefitof such a system is that it allows the tiers or match levels to bechanged with greater flexibility.

For example, an account holder with a balance less than $1,000 mayreceive a 2% match on the transferred savings amount. Meanwhile, anaccount holder with a balance of at least $1,000, but not more than$10,000 may receive a higher match (e.g., 5%) on the savings amount.Moreover, a holder with a balance of $10,000 or more may receive an evenhigher percentage match. One skilled in the art after review of thepresent disclosure will appreciate that the matching may be other than apercentage amount. For example, the balance tier may include an approachwhere, as the balance increases, the matching is a predetermined amountper transaction that also increases with each balance tier.

In another example, the match (or bonus) may be comprised of rewardsbased on certain user purchase behavior (e.g., double the match for gaspurchases). Yet another way to reward users may be based on the numberof transactions or purchase volume over certain period of time. Forexample, an institution may provide a higher matching level to anaccount holder that achieves more than a threshold number of cardtransactions (e.g., credit, debit, and the like), or spends greater thana particular amount per month on a card (e.g., credit, debit, and thelike)

The aforementioned features in accordance with aspects of the disclosureand as referenced in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 may be implemented in a computersystem 101. When computer system 101 receives POS transactioninformation, the transactions may have a code associated with it thatlinks the transaction to a merchant type. Such a code may be used todetermine the matching (i.e., incentive package) for the transaction.For example, an account holder may receive higher matching/bonus forpurchases at a particular merchant (in step 208 and 210), or forparticular types of purchases (e.g., bookstore purchases to encourageeducation, healthcare purchases/costs to encourage good health) (in step212). In some instances, a financial institution may waive a maintenancefee (e.g., monthly fee) (in step 214) based on the number oftransactions (e.g., debit card or credit card) or based on the number ofdollars spent on purchases. An incentive engine executing in computersystem 101 may track the number of transactions on an account (e.g.,debit card account) and/or the amount of dollars spent from eachaccount. If an account exceeds a threshold value (in step 208), anadditional bonus/matching (or reward) may be assessed for the account.The incentive engine may be comprised of computer-executableinstructions executed by a processor 103 in computer system 101.

In another embodiment, a merchant matching feature may be included inaccordance with aspects of the disclosure. For example, a list ofmerchants may be provided to an account holder that will cause theaccount holder to achieve increase matching/bonus levels for his/hersavings amount. In one example, the merchants may provide (in step 216)a portion or all of the matching/bonus funds transferred to the accountholder's account for purchases associated with the merchant. As such,the account holder may be motivated to shop with the merchant. One ofordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosure willappreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosure may becombined with the aforementioned merchant matching feature and suchcombinations are contemplated by the disclosure. For example themerchant matching feature may be combined with a tiered approachdisclosed herein to provide higher levels of matching/bonus for thoseaccount holders with increased number of transactions with a merchant orincrease amount of total transaction amount with a merchant.

In yet another example, the matching/bonus may depend on the number ofproducts an account holder has with a financial institution. A computersystem 101 may include or communicate with the financial institution'suser information system. The user information system may provideinformation about the overall user relationship (e.g., the number andtype of accounts a person has with the institution, how long the personhas been an account holder, and the like) and the computer system 101may determine matching level accordingly. For example, a table in memory115 at the computer system 101 may link different matching/bonus levelsto different levels of user loyalty. A long-time user with a largenumber of accounts (e.g., auto loan, home loan, home equity loan,investments, deposits, and the like) with substantial balances may bedesignated at the highest user loyalty level, thus receive a highbonus/matching (e.g., 100% matching).

In yet another example, an account holder may choose to receive thematch as reward points that can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards,airline miles, and the like. For example, the account holder mayidentify an item they wish to purchase. Once sufficient matching amountshave accumulated for the account holder, a financial institution maycontact a merchant selling the product, and procure the product forshipment to the account holder. The account holder may be notified forfinal approval before the institution makes the final purchase andshipment. Alternatively, the financial institution may procure theproduct when the sum of the account holder's savings amount (fromautomatic transfers through a savings program) and match amount issufficient to purchase the item.

Finally, in another example, the matching/bonus may be based on onlinebill pay transactions. As such, an account holder may be provided anincentive to use electronic (i.e., online) bill pay. For example, anaccount holder that registers for electronic statement in lieu of paperstatements may be afforded a higher matching/bonus level than a holderthat does not. Likewise, an account holder that registers for directdeposit may be allocated a higher matching/bonus level than a holderthat does not. Moreover, a financial institution may encourage itsaccount holders to use direct deposit by increasing (e.g., using theincreasing approach) their paycheck amount and other amounts directlydeposited with the institution. One skilled in the art will appreciatethat other online/electronic services may be afforded a greaterincentive among users and prospective users when linked to a highermatching/bonus level.

In another example, the matching (i.e., bonus) paid to the accountholder may be based on the account holder growing an account balanceover a period of time (e.g., subsequent number of months). For example,an account holder may be paid a particular matching/bonus level for thefirst 3 months, but if the holder increases the balance of a savingsaccount for the subsequent six month following the first 3 months, afinancial institution may retroactively apply a bonus (e.g., 2%interest, and the like) to the first 3 months balance. One skilled inthe art will appreciate after review of the present disclosure thatthere are numerous techniques disclosed for calculating balance for aperiod of time and may be applied to the aforementioned embodiment. Inanother example, the account holder may be required to maintain aminimum balance (e.g., $300) and/or enroll in an automatic scheduledtransfer (e.g., a monthly automated transfer of $25 from a checking tothe savings account) to be eligible for the aforementioned retroactivelyapplied bonus feature. Furthermore, in yet another embodiment, if thesavings account balance is the same or higher at the one-yearanniversary date of enrolling in the savings program, a financialinstitution may at least double the matching/bonus amount to help growthe savings amount even more.

In yet another embodiment, the match/bonus paid to an account holder maybe based on his/her use of online bill pay features. For example, onlinebill pay transaction codes may be designated in computer system 101(e.g., by adding the codes to a list of transaction codes identified aseligible for automatic savings and/or matching) to trigger the transferof automatic savings amounts. Therefore, when such transactions appearon an account holder's statement, the financial institution maydetermine that an online transaction (e.g., online bill pay transactionor other similar type of online transaction) has occurred, and provide amatching/bonus contribution.

In addition, to encourage additional savings, a financial institutionmay offer an account holder the option to increase (e.g., double) amatching/bonus level if the account holder enrolls for an automaticscheduled transfer of at least a predetermined amount (e.g., $25/month)to a saving account. The matching/bonus level may be phased out suchthat the account holder receives full matching for a period of time(e.g., the first 3 months), and then a fraction of that amount (e.g.,10%) ongoing thereafter. In another embodiment, the account holder maybe required to maintain a minimum deposit amount (e.g., $300) in his/hersavings account in addition to the aforementioned in order to beeligible for the increased matching/bonus level. In another example, ifthe account holder does not make any withdrawals from the savingsaccount for a period of time (e.g., one year), a financial institutionmay provide a higher matching level (e.g., double the match from theprior year, increase the matching level for the subsequent year, and thelike) In another example, when an account holder deposits large orcertain types of funds (e.g., tax refund) into a savings account anddoes not withdraw the funds for a predefined period of time (e.g., oneyear), the institution may provide an increased matching/bonus level(e.g., double matching, increased interest rate yield) on the savingsamount.

In another example in accordance with aspects of the disclosure, afinancial institution may enforce a predefined maximum limit (e.g.,$300) for the matching/bonus amount for a given period of time (e.g.,one year). Meanwhile, the institution may match the transferred savingsamount at 100% for an initial period of time (e.g., 3 months) and alower matching level (e.g., 5%) thereafter.

Furthermore, to encourage savings, an account holder and financialinstitution may identify a period of time (e.g., one year) and a savingsamount goal for the holder's savings amount. If the holder achieves thegoal, the financial institution may reward the account holder byproviding an increased matching level (e.g., double the match from theprior year, increase the matching level for the subsequent year, and thelike)

In yet another example, when an account holder regularly pays (e.g., forone consecutive year) at least the minimum amount due on a credit card,a financial institution may increase the level of matching/bonus paid ontransferred savings amount. As such, the financial institutionencourages good financial management among its account holders.Furthermore, to encourage account holders to maintain a credit card andchecking account (or debit card) with the financial institution, theinstitution may offer an increased matching/bonus level to an accountholder commensurate with the amount of interest paid on the holder'scredit card. In another embodiment, the financial institution may refunda portion (e.g., 1%, 5%, 20%) of the total amount of interest paid onthe holder's credit card over a period of time (e.g., one year) for oneor more reasons, including, for example, if the account holder regularlypays at least the minimum amount due on a credit card over the timeperiod.

As explained throughout the disclosure herein, the matching amount maybe deposited in a recipient account with a financial institution. Someexamples of recipient accounts include savings accounts that haverestrictions on the account holder's ability to withdraw funds withoutearly withdrawal charges. In addition, the matching amount may bedeposited in various different types of recipient accounts (e.g., giftcard account, and the like) Furthermore, in some embodiments, thematching amount may be reward points applied towards airline frequentflier mile programs, or other reward-like programs.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the matchingamount may be paid out at one or more times or regular intervals. Forexample, a financial institution may pay a bonus at the one-yearanniversary of enrolling in the savings program on the balance on theone-year date. As such, an account holder that withdraws money prior tothe one-year date may not achieve maximum matching/bonus. In anotherexample, the matching amount may be paid at the end of each day. In yetanother example, a matching amount may be paid in “near real-time” astransactions eligible for matching are received at computer system 101.In yet another example, matching amounts are paid out only after anaggregate match amount threshold (e.g., $10) has been reached. As such,a financial institution can reduce the number of transfers that arerequired to implement a savings program in accordance with aspects ofthe disclosure.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, after the user selectsthe recipient accounts to enroll for receiving savings from the program,the server presents the user with an option to enroll in a service forreceiving distribute notifications. If the user selects the distributenotification option, the server then presents to the user options fordetermining the threshold amount that triggers sending the distributenotifications to the user. The options for determining the thresholdlevel for when the distribute notifications will be sent to the user maybe based on an absolute monetary amount of savings from the program, apercentage of savings based on a goal selected by the user, apredetermined passage of time, such as a weekly or monthly distributenotification, or other criterion. When the notification threshold hasbeen reached, the server may then send a notification to the useralerting the user that, among other things, the threshold savings amounthas been reached.

Referring to FIG. 7, in step 700, a debit to a source account (e.g.,check card POS, check, and the like) is authorized.

In step 702, the debit transaction, such as a purchase at POS 162,disclosed in FIG. 4, using a debit card, may be processed.

In step 704, the debit transaction may be posted to the source account.

In step 706, the method of calculating the savings amount may then bedetermined. In one embodiment, the savings amount may be determined byeither a round up, a discount, a merchant or product based savings, awhole monetary amount, a percentage based, a “treat yourself” method, orother criterion. In another embodiment, in reference to FIG. 4, computerserver 101, in communication with the merchants 121, 122 or 123, andaccompanying POS devices may determine whether a purchase by the userwas a discount purchase.

In step 708, all round up or other savings amounts may be aggregated.This may occur on a daily basis. By aggregating the round ups for onedaily posting, exceeding account limits of the source account can beavoided. In one embodiment, the daily posting occurs at the end of theday to further avoid exceeding account limits.

In step 710, a determination may be made if funds are available in thesource account. If not, the aggregated round up debit transaction iscancelled (step 718) and a $0.00 transaction is created with a no fundsin source account descriptor (step 720).

In step 712, the threshold savings level may be determined. In oneembodiment of the present disclosure and in reference to FIG. 5, thedistribute notification threshold is determined by selectivedistribution module 1242A calculating the aggregate savings amount thathas not been disbursed to recipient accounts yet. If the threshold levelhas not been reached, computer system 101 may continue to aggregatesavings amount without disbursement (step 722) to a recipient accountuntil the distribute notification threshold has been reached. Uponreaching the distribute notification threshold amount, the selectivedistribution module 1242A may proceed to send the distributionnotification and stores this information in memory.

In step 714, the distribution notification and recipient accountselection may be sent to the user. In one embodiment of the presentdisclosure and in reference to FIG. 5, the distribution notificationsare determined by a selective distribution module 1242A in computersystem 101 (e.g., using processor 103A). Selective distribution module1242A determines if the aggregated savings (step 708) stored in data121A has met a predetermined threshold value as specified by a user inthe preceding example. Selective distribution module 1242A may then sendan encrypted distribution notification via a modem in communicationsmodule 109A through WAN 129 to the Internet, and finally to smartphone171. Smartphone 171 receives the distribution notification via Internetthrough communications module 109B and stores the notification in memory115B. Selective distribution module 1242B in smartphone 171, usingprocessor 103B then initiates presenting the distribution notificationvia audio interface 222. Audio interface 222 of smartphone 171 receivesthe notification from selective distribution module 1242B, and the audiointerface then converts the electrical notification into an audiblesignal to the user via speakers 224 of smartphone 171. After receivingthe audible distribution notification, selective distribution module1242B then presents a selection input options of recipient accounts forthe user to select for distribution of savings. Selective distributionmodule 1242B may present the selection input options for recipientaccounts via processor 103B communicating with touchscreen GUI 172 ofcommunications module 109B of smartphone 171, to provide a graphicalinterface for the user to make a selection.

In step 716, the recipient account selections are received. In oneembodiment of the disclosure and in reference to FIG. 5, smartphone 171receives the recipient account selection. Once the user selects therecipient account to receive the distribute savings by touching thecorresponding recipient account option via touchscreen GUI 172, thatselection is transmitted through communications module 109B to selectivedistribution module 1242B, where it is then transmitted throughcommunications module 109B to selective distribution module 1242A viathe Internet (e.g., network 131) and communications module 109. Uponreceiving the recipient account selection information, selectivedistribution module 1242A then processes, transforms, and transmits thedistribute savings selection information through communications module109 to a bank server 141 via WAN 129 and Internet (e.g., network 131).Bank server 141 receives the distribute savings selection informationfrom selective distribution module 1242A. The distribute savingsselection information provides instructions for the bank server 141 topass on the information to deposit applications and credit engines. Thedeposit applications debit the savings distribution from the sourceaccount, and the credit engines verify the existence and status of thereceiving account and create a credit transaction for the transferredsavings amount to post to the recipient account in the next processingcycle.

In a further embodiment and in reference to FIG. 5, the distributionnotification information sent to the user's wireless device by selectivedistribution module 1242A may be transformed into a selectivedistribution message type. Selective distribution module 1242A mayformat the data in the selective distribution message type into anencrypted packet that when decrypted, may include a messageidentification field, source account fields, recipient account fields,savings amount field, date fields, and selection field, among otherfields. As shown in FIG. 17, the selective distribution message type maybe illustrated with the aforementioned fields and formalities.

In reference to FIG. 5, the message identification field when read bydistribution selection modules 1242A or 1242B may identify the messageas a selective distribution message type. The source account fields mayprovide information regarding the source accounts to draw thedistribution savings from. Recipient account fields may provideinformation regarding the recipient account. The savings amount fieldprovides information regarding the distribution savings. The date fieldsmay provide the date range for which the savings aggregate for thedistribution threshold notification is drawn from, the date of thedistribution notification, the date of distribution selection by theuser, the date the distribution savings were posted, among other dates.The selection field may provide information relating to the sourceaccounts and recipient accounts that were selected for the distributionsavings, as a user may identify multiple source and recipient accountsfor a distribution savings. The fields may provide sufficientinformation so when parsed and transformed by distribution module 1242Aand distribution module 1242B to provide banking server 141 or 151 theinformation needed to obtain any data requests of the selected sourceand recipient accounts without need for selective distribution modules1242B to be present at the bank servers to process the data. At leastone technological benefit to this arrangement is that the selectivedistribution module 1242B may separate multiple transfer requests into aplurality of messages that can be scaleably distributed to a pluralityof banking servers for processing. As such, the processing load may beshared among a server farm of banking servers.

Additionally, the recipient account selection information sent byselective distribution module 1242B to selective distribution module1242A may also be transformed into a selective distribution messagetype. Similarly to the embodiment described above, this selectivedistribution message type may be formatted by transforming andencrypting the data packets into a selective distribution message typecontaining message identification field, source account fields,recipient account fields, savings amount field, date fields, andselection fields, among other fields. This may allow the distributionselection modules 1242A to parse the recipient account selectioninformation once received from distribution module 1242B, splice thedata, repackage, and transmit the relevant data so as to send to bankservers 141 or 151 of the necessary financial institutions to performthe debits and credits to the selected source and recipient accountswithout need for selective distribution modules 1242B to be present atthe bank servers to process the data from distribution selection modules1242A.

Additionally, as the distribution notification information and recipientaccount selection information may be transformed into selectivedistribution message types, bank servers 141 and 151 may also haveselective distribution modules 1242B so as to process the selectivedistribution message types without need for selective distributionmodule 1242A in computer server 101 to transform the selectivedistribution message type into code readable by the bank servers withoutselective distribution modules 1242B. In this embodiment, bank servers141 and 151 may then be able to transform the data for communicatingwith a variety of other bank and computer servers at other financialinstitutions and retail locations, among other computers.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the entirety disclosedherein and in reference to FIG. 5, will appreciate that various featuresand aspects of the disclosure allow the user to receive distributionnotifications by other wireless devices besides smartphone 171. The usermay also associate other devices with the source account to communicatewith selective distribution module 1242A in computer system 101 forreceiving distribution notifications and for allowing the user to selectrecipient accounts, such as a user's personal computer 161, tablet 181,or smartwatch 191. Any personal wireless device capable of communicatingwith computer server 101 and selective distribution module 1242A may beused.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, smartwatch 191 mayreceive distribution notifications from selective distribution module1242A in computer server 101 via communications module 109B. Smartwatch191 may not have selective distribution module 1242B, but upon receivingthe distribution notifications in communications module 109B, directlypresent the notification to the user via a graphical message on thesmartwatch GUI in communications module 109B, or as an audio alertthrough a speaker in communications module 109B in smartwatch 191. Thesmartwatch 191 may present any combination of graphical, audio, orvibration distribution notifications alerts to a user.

Further, smartwatch 191 may allow for the user to make a recipientaccount selection at the smartwatch touchscreen GUI 172 and thencommunicate that selection to selective distribution module 1242A viacommunications module 109B in smartwatch 191, or it may communicate withanother wireless device for the user to make a recipient accountselection. For example, upon receiving distribution notification fromdistribution module 1242A, the smartwatch alerts the user. Then,smartwatch 191 communicates the distribution notification with anotherwireless device of the user, such as tablet 181, which then presents therecipient account selection input to the user.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure and in reference toFIG. 5, the distribution notification presented to the user may becommunicated in various forms. For example, after the wireless device ofthe user receives the distribution notification, it may present thenotification via vibration of the wireless device. Selectivedistribution module 1242B of the wireless device, upon receiving thedistribution notification, would send the notification signal to a motorwithin communications module 109B that activates the motor and causesvibration within the wireless device. In another example, thedistribution module 1242B upon receiving the distribution notificationwould transmit a text or image graphical alert through a GUI of thecommunications module 109B.

Further, selective distribution module 1242B may receive the user inputfor selection of the recipient accounts through additional means. Forexample, upon presenting the user with recipient account selectionsthrough a GUI in communications module 109B of the wireless device, theuser may select the recipient account through voice activation.Selective distribution module 1242B may transmit the recipient accountselection information to the GUI via processor 103B with correspondingvoice activation phrases for each account, such as “account A” or“grandson's account”. When the user speaks one of the voice activationphrases for an account, a microphone within the communications module109B may detect the phrase and then send that selection information toselective distribution module 1242B.

In another example, the user may select a recipient account through aGUI in the wireless device via a keyboard or mouse in communicationsmodule 109B. Still further, selective distribution module 1242B may havepre-selected recipient accounts stored in memory 115B that the user hasselected at enrollment in the savings program, and selectivedistribution module 1242B will automatically select the pre-selectedrecipient account after sending a distribution notification to the user.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the entirety disclosedherein will appreciate that the user's mobile device may receive therecipient accounts information through a number of means. For example,in one embodiment, the selective distribution module 1242B of thewireless device may have the recipient account information stored on themobile device in memory 115B. In this embodiment, upon receiving thedistribution notification, selective distribution module 1242B of thewireless device would then retrieve the recipient accounts informationform memory 115B to present the recipient account selection input to theuser. In another embodiment, the selective distribution module 1242Breceives the recipient account information from computer server 101along with the distribution notification. The selective distributionmodule 1242A may encrypt the recipient account information and thentransmit this information over the Internet (e.g., network 131) throughcommunications module 109A to the wireless device. Once the wirelessdevice has received the encrypted recipient account information,selective distribution module 1242B then decrypts the information andsends this information to communication module 109B for presenting tothe user for selection. In a still further embodiment, the wirelessdevice may communicate directly with bank server 141 for receiving therecipient account information.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure and in reference toFIG. 5, the selective distribution module 1242A may exist within a bankserver 141 or 151 of a financial institution, such that the selectivedistribution module 1242A exists within memory 115A of bank server 141or 151. Distribute notifications and recipient account selectioninformation may then be transmitted directly between bank server 141 or151 to the user's wireless device. When selective distribution module1242A in bank server 141 or 151 receives the recipient account selectionfrom the user's wireless device, selective distribution module 1242Athrough processor 103 then posts the debit of the distribution savingsfrom the source account and posts the credit of the distribution savingsto the recipient account in data 121.

Alternatively, the user's wireless device may not contain selectivedistribution module 1242B within memory 115B. Selective distributionmodule 1242A may transmit and present both selective distributionnotifications and recipient account selections, as well as receiverecipient account inputs from the user through the wireless device.Selective distribution module 1242A may communicate wirelessly withcommunications module 109B in the wireless device to directly senddistribution notification signals to the user, as well as sendingrecipient account selection information directly to the user throughcommunications module 109B. Additionally, when the user makes arecipient account selection, that selection may be transmitted directlyfrom communications module 109B to the computers server 101 forprocessing by selective distribution module 1242A. In this sense, theuser's wireless device is operating as a portal for presenting andreceiving selective distribution information from selective distributionmodule 1242A without requiring selective distribution module 1242B onthe wireless device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, computer server 101presents an option for the user to enroll in a service for receivingadditional savings notifications. The additional savings notificationmay prompt the user to add additional funds to the selected savingsamounts. The additional amount may be added to a daily savings amount.In another embodiment, the additional savings amount may be added atother time frames, such as weekly or monthly. The user may select anywhole monetary amount, among other amounts, to add to the savings roundup amounts when prompted by an additional savings notification. The usermay additionally select periodic time periods to send additional savingsnotifications to the user in the future.

In a further embodiment, the additional savings notification may be sentby computer server 101 in conjunction with sending the savingsnotification notifying the user that they are not reaching their savingsgoals. The server may also suggest an additional savings amount oradditional savings method to add to the savings amounts or savingsmethods based on the users selected goal and the projection of achievingthat goal within a selected time frame.

Referring to FIG. 8, an embodiment of a computer implemented savingsprogram for providing additional savings notifications is shown. In step700, the debit to the source account (e.g., check card POS, check, andthe like) selected at 102 is authorized.

In step 702, the debit transaction, such as a purchase at POS 162disclosed in FIG. 4, using a debit card, may be processed.

In step 704, the debit transaction may be posted to the source account.

In step 800, the daily posting transaction begins.

In step 706, the method of calculating the savings amount may bedetermined. In one embodiment, the savings amount may be determined byeither a round up, a discount, a merchant or product based savings, awhole monetary amount, a percentage based, a “treat yourself” method, orother criterion. In another embodiment, with reference to elementsdepicted in FIG. 4, the computer server 101, in communication with themerchants 164, 165 or 166, and accompanying POS devices 162 maydetermine whether a purchase by the user was a discount purchase.

In step 708, all round up or other amounts may be aggregated. This mayoccur on a daily basis. By aggregating the round ups for one dailyposting, exceeding account limits of the source account can be avoided.In one embodiment, the daily posting may occur at the end of the day tofurther avoid exceeding account limits.

In step 710, a determination may be made if funds are available in thesource account. If not, the aggregated round up debit transaction may becancelled (step 718) and a $0.00 transaction is created with a no fundsin source account descriptor (step 720).

In step 802, with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, theadditional savings module 843A may determine if the savings are on trackto meeting the user's savings goal. Additional savings module 843determines the daily savings needed to meet the user's selected goal bythe given time frame by the user. If the user is on track as of thatday, then the additional savings module 843A may proceed to step 808. Ifthe user is not on track, then additional savings module 843 may send arequest for additional savings 804.

In step 804, the additional savings notification may be sent to theuser. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, with reference toelements depicted in FIG. 5, the additional savings notifications may bedetermined by an additional savings module 843A in computer system 101(e.g., using processor 103A). Additional savings module 843A determinesif the aggregated savings 408 stored in data 121A has met a dailythreshold value as specified by a user's end goals and calculated byadditional savings module 843A in the preceding example. Additionalsavings module 843A may then send an encrypted additional savingsnotification via a modem in communications module 109A through WAN 129to the Internet (e.g., network 131), and finally to smartphone 171.Smartphone 171 receives the additional savings notification via Internet(e.g., network 131) through communications module 109B and stores thenotification in memory 115B. Additional savings module 843B insmartphone 171, using processor 103B then initiates presenting theadditional savings notification via audio interface 222. Audio interface222 of smartphone 171 receives the notification from additional savingsmodule 843B, and the audio interface may then converts the electricalnotification into an audible signal to the user via speakers 224 ofsmartphone 171. After receiving the audible additional savingsnotification, additional savings module 843B may then presents aselection input options for additional savings for the user to select toadd to the savings amount. Additionally, savings module 843B may presentthe selection input options for additional savings via touchscreen GUI172 by processor 103B communicating with communications module 109B ofsmartphone 171 to provide a graphical interface for the user to make aselection.

In step 806, the additional savings selections may be received. In oneembodiment of the disclosure, with reference to elements depicted inFIG. 5, smartphone 171 receives the additional savings selections. Oncethe user selects the additional savings selections by touching thecorresponding additional savings option via touchscreen GUI 172, thatselection may be transmitted through communications module 109B toadditional savings module 843B, where it is then transmitted throughcommunications module 109B to additional savings module 843A of computerserver 101 via the Internet (e.g., network 131) and communicationsmodule 109. Upon receiving the additional savings selections, additionalsavings module 843A may then determine a new savings amount.

In step 808, the additional savings module 843A may determine if theuser is on track to meet a savings goal based on an intermediate timeperiod. With reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, the intermediatetime period may be a monthly time period since enrollment, in whichadditional savings module 843A checks the total savings since enrollmentand determines if the user is on track to reach the final savings goalbased on the user's intermediate time period, which in one embodimentmay be a monthly savings total. If additional savings module 843Adetermines that the user has not met the intermediate savings goal, theadditional savings module 843A may send an additional savings methodnotification 810. If the user has met the intermediate savings goal, butrequired additional savings request 804, additional savings module 843Amay transform and transmits the additional savings selectionsinformation through communications module 109 to a bank server 141 viaWAN 129 and Internet (e.g., network 131). Bank server 141 may receivethe additional savings selections information from additional savingsmodule 843A. Additional savings module 843A provides instructions forbank server 141 to pass on the information to deposit applications fordebiting the additional savings selections information from the sourceaccount and to credit engines for verifying the existence and status ofthe receiving account. Bank server 141 may then create a credittransaction for the additional savings selections information to post tothe recipient account in the next processing cycle. If the user'ssavings are on track and did not require additional savings notification804 or additional savings method notification 801, additional savingsmodule 843A may transmit the savings amount through communicationsmodule 109 to a bank server 141 via WAN 129 and Internet (e.g., network131) for posting the savings amount as in the proceeding exampledescribed above.

In step 810, the additional savings method notification may be sent tothe user. In one embodiment of the present disclosure and with referenceto elements depicted in FIG. 5, the additional savings methodnotification may be determined by an additional savings module 843A incomputer system 101 (e.g., using processor 103). Additional savingsmodule 843A may then send an encrypted additional savings methodnotification via a modem in communications module 109A through WAN 129to the Internet (e.g., network 131), and finally to smartphone 171.Smartphone 171 receives the additional savings method notification viaInternet (e.g., network 131) through communications module 109B andstores the notification in memory 115B. Additional savings module 843Bin smartphone 171, using processor 103B may then initiate presenting theadditional savings method notification via audio interface 222. Audiointerface 222 of smartphone 171 receives the notification fromadditional savings module 843B, and the audio interface may then convertthe electrical notification into an audible signal to the user viaspeakers 224 of smartphone 171. After receiving the audible additionalsavings method notification, additional savings module 843B may thenpresent a selection input option for additional savings method for theuser to select to add or alter the savings method of 406 and 804.Additional savings module 843B may present the selection input optionsfor additional savings methods via touchscreen GUI 172 by processor 103Bcommunicating with communications module 109B of smartphone 171 toprovide a graphical interface for the user to make a selection.

In step 812, the additional savings method selections may be received.In one embodiment of the disclosure and with reference to elementsdepicted in FIG. 5, smartphone 171 receives the additional savingsmethod selections. Once the user selects the additional savings methodselections by touching the corresponding additional savings methodoption via touchscreen GUI 172, those selections may be transmittedthrough communications module 109B to additional savings module 843B,where it is then transmitted through communications module 109B toadditional savings module 843A of computer server 101 via the Internet(e.g., network 131) and communications module 109. Upon receiving theadditional savings method selections, additional savings module 843A maythen determine a new savings method amount. Additional savings module843A may then transmit the savings amount through communications module109 to a bank server 141 via WAN 129 and Internet (e.g., network 131)for posting the savings amount as in the proceeding example describedabove.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosure mayallow additional savings module 843A to present a number of additionalsavings amounts for the user to select at the wireless device in step804 and 806. The additional saving amounts may be an amount recommendedby additional savings module 843A that is calculated to meet the user'sdaily savings amount to reach the user's selected goal duringenrollment. Further, the wireless device in communication withadditional savings module 843A may present the option for the user tospecify a custom additional savings amount. The additional savingsamount may be a whole monetary amount, a percentage of the user'ssavings amount, or any other criterion that a banking server may be ableto process.

Similarly, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, additionalsavings module 843A in communication with a wireless device of the usermay present a number of additional savings methods for the user toselect at the wireless device in step 810 and 812. Additional savingsmodule 843A may present additional savings methods that have beendescribed at previous step 406, such as discount savings, product ormerchant based savings, whole monetary amount savings, round up savings,or other methods of savings amounts. Additional savings module 843A maycalculate and recommend preferred savings methods for the user based onobtaining a user's specified savings goal.

In one embodiment, the additional savings notification sent to theuser's wireless device by additional savings module 843A may betransformed into an additional savings message type. Additional savingsmodule 843A may format the data in the additional savings message typeinto an encrypted packet that when decrypted, may include a messageidentification field, source account fields, recipient account fields,savings amount fields, date fields, and selection fields, among otherfields. As shown in FIG. 17, the additional savings message type isillustrated with the aforementioned fields and formalities.

Referring to FIG. 17, the message identification field 1700 when read byadditional savings module 843A or 843B, may identify the message as anadditional savings message type. The source account field 1702 mayprovide information regarding the source accounts to draw the additionalsavings from. Recipient account field 1704 may provide informationregarding the recipient account. The savings amount field 1706 mayprovide information regarding the additional savings options. The datefield 1708 may provide the date range for which the savings aggregatefor the distribution threshold notification is drawn from, the date ofthe distribution notification, the date of distribution selection by theuser, the date the distribution savings were posted, among other dates.The selection field 1710 may provide information relating to the sourceaccounts and recipient accounts that were selected for the distributionsavings, as a user may identify multiple source and recipient accountsfor a distribution savings. Additional fields 1712 may provideadditional information regarding multiple additional savingstransactions between multiple source and recipient accounts. Additionalsavings module 843A or additional savings module 843B may parse andtransform the additional savings message type before being sent tobanking server 141 or 151. This conversion of the additional savingsmessage into a readable format by bank servers 141 and 151 obviates theneed for selective additional savings module 843B to be present at thebank servers to process the message. Further, the information within thefields of the additional savings message may provide sufficientinformation, so when parsed and transformed by additional savings module843A or additional savings module 843B, provide sufficient informationfor bank servers 141 or 151 to create or update a savings debit orcredit transaction without need to query additional data from theselected source and recipient accounts. At least one technologicalbenefit to this arrangement is that the selective distribution module1242B may separate multiple transfer requests into a plurality ofmessages that can be scaleably distributed to a plurality of bankingservers for processing. As such, the processing load may be shared amonga server farm of banking servers.

Additionally, the additional savings selection information sent byadditional savings module 843B to additional savings module 843A mayalso be transformed into an additional savings message type. Similarlyto the embodiment described above, this additional savings message typemay be formatted by transforming and encrypting the data packets into anadditional savings message type that may contain message identificationfield, source account fields, recipient account fields, savings amountfields, date fields, and selection fields, among other fields asdescribed in the proceeding example. This may allow the distributionselection modules 1242A to parse the recipient account selectioninformation once received from distribution module 1242B, splice thedata, repackage, and transmit the relevant data so as to send to bankservers 141 or 151. Bank servers 141 or 151 may then perform the debitsand credits to the selected source and recipient accounts without needfor additional savings module 843B to be present at the bank servers toprocess the data from additional savings module 843A.

In another embodiment, in reference to FIG. 5, bank servers 141 and 151may also have additional savings module 843B so as to process theadditional savings message type without need for additional savingsmodule 843A in computer server 101 to transform the message type intocode readable by the bank servers without additional savings modules843B. In this embodiment, bank servers 141 and 151 may then be able totransform the data for communicating with a variety of other bank andcomputer servers at other financial institutions and retail locations,among other computers.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosureallow the user to receive additional savings and additional savingsmethod notifications by other wireless devices besides smartphone 171.The user may also associate other devices with the source account tocommunicate with additional savings module 843A in computer system 101for receiving additional savings and additional savings methodnotifications and for allowing the user to select additional savings andadditional savings methods, such as a user's personal computer 161,tablet 181, or smartwatch 191. Any personal wireless device capable ofcommunicating with computer server 101 and additional savings module843A may be used.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, smartwatch 191 mayreceive additional savings or additional savings method notificationsfrom additional savings module 843A in computer server 101 viacommunications module 109B. Smartwatch 191 may not have additionalsavings module 843B, but upon receiving the additional savings oradditional savings method notifications in communications module 109B,directly present the notifications to the user via a graphical messageon the smartwatch GUI in communications module 109B, or as an audioalert through a speaker in communications module 109B in smartwatch 191.The smartwatch 191 may present any combination of graphical, audio, orvibration distribution notifications alerts to a user.

Further, smartwatch 191 may allow for the user to make an additionalsavings or additional savings method selection at the smartwatchtouchscreen GUI 172 and then communicate that selection to additionalsavings module 843A via communications module 109B in smartwatch 191, orit may communicate with another wireless device for the user to make anadditional savings or additional savings method selection. For example,upon receiving additional savings or additional savings method selectionfrom additional savings module 843A, the smartwatch alerts the user.Then, smartwatch 191 communicates the additional savings or additionalsavings method notification with another wireless device of the user,such as tablet 181, which then presents additional savings or additionalsavings method selection input to the user.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the additionalsavings or additional savings method notifications presented to the usermay be communicated in various forms. For example, after the wirelessdevice of the user receives the notification, it may present thenotification via vibration of the wireless device. Additional savingsmodule 843B of the wireless device, upon receiving the additionalsavings or additional savings method notification, would send thenotification signal to a motor within communications module 109B thatactivates the motor and causes vibration within the wireless device. Inanother example, the additional savings module 843B upon receiving theadditional savings or additional savings method notification wouldtransmit a text or image graphical alert through a GUI of thecommunications module 109B.

Further, additional savings module 843B may receive the user input forselection of the additional savings or additional savings method throughadditional means. For example, upon presenting the user with additionalsavings or additional savings method selections through a GUI incommunications module 109B of the wireless device, the user may selectthe recipient account through voice activation. Additional savingsmodule 843B may transmit the additional savings or additional savingsmethod selection information to the GUI via processor 103B withcorresponding voice activation phrases for each additional savings oradditional savings method, such as “five dollar additional amount” or“merchant based savings method”. When the user speaks one of the voiceactivation phrases for an account, a microphone within thecommunications module 109B may detect the phrase and then send thatselection information to additional savings module 843B.

In another example, the user may select a recipient account through aGUI in the wireless device via a keyboard or mouse in communicationsmodule 109B.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that the user's mobile device may receive the additionalsavings information through a number of means. For example, in oneembodiment and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, theadditional savings module 843B of the wireless device may have theadditional savings information stored on the mobile device in memory115B. In this embodiment, upon receiving the additional savings oradditional savings method notification, additional savings module 843Bof the wireless device would then retrieve the additional savings oradditional savings method information from memory 115B to present theadditional savings or additional savings method input to the user. Inanother embodiment, the additional savings module 843B receives theadditional savings or additional savings method information fromcomputer server 101 along with the additional savings or additionalsavings method notification. The additional savings module 843A mayencrypt the additional savings or additional savings method informationand then transmit this information over the Internet (e.g., network 131)through communications module 109A to the wireless device. Once thewireless device has received the encrypted additional savings oradditional savings method information, additional savings module 843Bthen decrypts the information and sends this information tocommunication module 109B for presenting to the user for selection. In astill further embodiment, the wireless device may communicate directlywith bank server 141 for receiving the additional savings or additionalsavings method information.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the additionalsavings module 843A may exist within a bank server 141 or 151 of afinancial institution, such that the additional savings module 843Aexists within memory 115A of bank server 141 or 151. Additional savingsor additional savings method information may then be transmitteddirectly between bank server 141 or 151 to the user's wireless device.When additional savings module 843A in bank server 141 or 151 receivesthe additional savings or additional savings method information from theuser's wireless device, additional savings module 843A through processor103 then posts the debit of the additional savings from the sourceaccount and posts the credit of the additional savings to the recipientaccount in data 121.

Alternatively, the user's wireless device may not contain additionalsavings module 843B within memory 115B. Additional savings module 843Amay transmit and present both additional savings and additional savingsmethod notifications, as well as receive additional savings oradditional savings method inputs from the user through the wirelessdevice. Additional savings module 843A may communicate wirelessly withcommunications module 109B in the wireless device to directly sendadditional savings or additional savings method notification signals tothe user. Further, when the user makes an additional savings oradditional savings method selection, that selection may be transmitteddirectly from communications module 109B to the computers server 101 forprocessing by additional savings module 843A. In this sense, the user'swireless device is operating as a portal for presenting and receivingadditional savings or additional savings method information fromadditional savings module 843A without requiring additional savingsmodule 843B on the wireless device.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may enroll in aservice to receive savings goal indicators. If the user enrolls in thesavings goal indicator service, computer system 101 may periodicallydetermine the total savings amounts saved from the source account sincethe user enrolled, and compare the total amounts to the users selectedgoal. If the server determines that the user has not reached their goalor is not on track to reach their goal, the server may send a savingsnotification alert to the user. In a further embodiment, the savingsnotification alert may be sent from computer system 101 to the usersselected device, and the alert may be voice activated, text, vibration,audio, or a graphical prompt. Alternatively, the server may alsodetermine if the user is on track to reach their goal by determining ifthe user has reached any identified intermediate goals, or the servermay determine if the user is on track based on the a projection from thetime remaining to reach the goal and the amount of total savingsaccumulated.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, computer system 101 mayperiodically send savings notifications updating the user on the amountthey have saved in the program and/or the progress the user has madetoward achieving their savings goal. Computer server 101 mayautomatically send updates periodically, or based on a time frameselected by the user.

Referring to FIG. 9, an embodiment of a computer implemented savingsprogram for providing a savings goal indicator is shown. In step 700,the debit to a source account (e.g., check card POS, check, and thelike) is authorized.

In step 702, the debit transaction, such as a purchase at POS 162 usinga debit card, may be processed.

In step 704, the debit transaction may be posted to the source account.

In step 800, the daily posting transaction begins.

In step 708, all round up or other amounts may be aggregated. This mayoccur on a daily, weekly, or other time basis. By aggregating the roundups for one daily or other selected time period for posting, exceedingaccount limits of the source account can be avoided. In one embodiment,the daily posting may occur at the end of the day to further avoidexceeding account limits.

In step 710, a determination may be made if funds are available in thesource account. If not, the aggregated round up debit transaction may becancelled (step 718) and a $0.00 transaction is created with a no fundsin source account descriptor (step 720).

In step 900, the savings goal module 944A may determine if the savingsamount has reached a savings goal notification threshold. Savings goalmodule 944A determines the use's total savings amount to date, andcompares that savings amount to the notification threshold. Thenotification threshold may be determined by the user's savings goal,including reaching certain percentages of the savings goal, as well asthe end savings goal. If the user has reached a savings goalnotification threshold, then savings goal module 944A may proceed tostep 902 to notify the user. If the user has not reached the savingsgoal notification threshold, then savings goal module 944A proceeds tostep 904.

In step 902, savings goal module 944A may send a savings goalnotification to the user. In one embodiment of the present disclosure asdisclosed by FIG. 5, savings goal module 944A may send an encryptedsavings goal notification via a modem in communications module 109Athrough WAN 129 to the Internet (e.g., network 131), and finally tosmartphone 171. Smartphone 171 receives the savings goal notificationvia Internet (e.g., network 131) through communications module 109B andstores the notification in memory 115B. Savings goal module 944B insmartphone 171, using processor 103B then initiates presenting thesavings goal notification via audio interface 222. Audio interface 222of smartphone 171 receives the notification from savings goal module944B, and the audio interface may then convert the electricalnotification into an audible signal to the user via speakers 224 ofsmartphone 171.

In step 904, the savings goal module 944A may determine if the timeperiod has lapsed for the user to meet the periodic save goal. In oneembodiment of the present disclosure and with reference to elementsdepicted in FIG. 5, savings goal module 944A may determine if a timeperiod has lapsed for sending a periodic savings goal notification.Savings goal module 944A may retrieve this information stored in memory115A providing the time period between savings goal updates, based onthe users selected savings goal during enrollment. If savings goalmodule 944A determines that the time period for a savings goal updatenotification has lapsed, it may send a notification to the user.

In step 906, the savings goal module 944A may send a savings goal updatenotification to the user. In one embodiment of the present disclosureand with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, savings goal module944A may send an encrypted savings goal update notification via a modemin communications module 109A through WAN 129 to the Internet (e.g.,network 131), and finally to smartphone 171. Smartphone 171 receives thesavings goal update notification via Internet (e.g., network 131)through communications module 109B and stores the notification in memory115B. Savings goal module 944B in smartphone 171, using processor 103Bthen initiates presenting the savings goal update notification via audiointerface 222. Audio interface 222 of smartphone 171 receives thenotification from savings goal module 944B, and the audio interface maythen convert the electrical notification into an audible signal to theuser via speakers 224 of smartphone 171. After receiving the audiblesavings goal update notification, savings goal module 944B may thenpresent a selection input options for updating the user's savings goalas defined by the user at enrollment. Savings goal module 944B maypresent the selection input options for updating their savings goals viatouchscreen GUI 172 by processor 103B communicating with communicationsmodule 109B of smartphone 171 to provide a graphical interface for theuser to make a selection.

In step 908, the savings goal update selection may be received. In oneembodiment of the disclosure and with reference to elements depicted inFIG. 5, smartphone 171 receives the savings goal update selection. Oncethe user selects the savings goal update selections by touching thecorresponding savings goal update options via touchscreen GUI 172, thatselection may be transmitted through communications module 109B tosavings goal module 944B, where it is then transmitted throughcommunications module 109B to savings goal module 944A of computerserver 101 via the Internet (e.g., network 131) and communicationsmodule 109. Upon receiving the savings goal update selection, savingsgoal module 944B may then determine a new savings amount notificationthreshold 900.

In step 910, the savings goal module 944A updates the savingsdistribution to the user's recipient accounts. In the case where theuser has identified multiple recipient accounts to enroll in the savingsprogram or multiple savings goals, the savings goal module 944Adetermines what percentage of the savings may go to each recipientaccount for the savings. In another embodiment, where savings goalmodule 944A determines that one savings goal has been reached, savingsgoal module 944A may then provide banking server 141 or 151 informationso as to divert additional savings into other recipient accounts orother savings goals selected by the user.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosure mayallow savings goal module 944A to present a number of savings goalselections for the user to select at the wireless device in step 906.The savings goal selections may be a recommended periodic savings goaldetermined by savings goal module 944A that is calculated to meet theuser's selected end goal during enrollment. Further, the wireless devicein communication with additional savings module 843A may present theoption for the user to specify a custom periodic or end goal savingsamount. Still further, in another embodiment of the present disclosure,the user may select multiple savings goals for multiple recipientaccounts, such that different recipient accounts may have differentsavings goals and different savings notification thresholds, and alsodifferent periodic savings goal update time periods. When presented witha savings goal update notification as in step 906, the user may updateand alter the savings goals, notification amounts, or periodic updatetime frames for different recipient accounts at step 908 of the presentdisclosure.

In one embodiment, the savings goal update notification sent to theuser's wireless device by savings goal module 944A may be transformedinto a savings goal update message type. Savings goal module 944A mayformat the data in the savings goal update message type into anencrypted packet that when decrypted, may include a messageidentification field, source account fields, recipient account fields,savings goal fields, date fields, and selection fields, among otherfields. As shown in FIG. 17, the savings goal update message type may beillustrated with the aforementioned fields and formalities.

Referring to FIG. 17, the message identification field 1700, when readby savings goal module 944A or 944B, may identify the message as asavings goal update message type. The source account field 1702 mayprovide information regarding the source accounts connected todetermining the savings totals and savings goals from. The recipientaccount field 1704 may provide information relating to the recipientaccounts connected to receiving the savings amounts toward the user'ssavings goals. The savings goal field 1714 provides informationregarding the additional savings options. The date field 1708 mayprovide the date range for which the savings aggregate for the savingsgoal notifications are drawn from, the date of the savings goalnotifications, the date of savings goal selections by the user, and thedate the savings goals were reached, among other dates. The selectionfield 1710 may provide information relating to the source accounts andrecipient accounts that were selected for the savings goals, as a usermay identify multiple source and recipient accounts for a distributionsavings. Referring to elements disclosed in FIG. 5, savings goal module944A or 944B may parse and transform the savings goal update messagebefore being sent to banking server 141 or 151. This conversion of thesavings goal update message into a readable format by bank servers 141and 151 obviates the need for savings goal module 944B to be present atthe bank servers to process the message. Further, the information withinthe fields of savings goal update message may provide sufficientinformation, so when parsed and transformed by savings goal module 944Aor savings goal module 944B, provide sufficient information for bankservers 141 or 151 to create or update savings debit or credittransactions between source and recipient accounts without need to queryadditional data from the selected source and recipient accounts. Atleast one technological benefit to this arrangement is that the savingsgoal module 944B may separate multiple savings update requests into aplurality of messages that can be scaleably distributed to a pluralityof banking servers for processing. As such, the processing load may beshared among a server farm of banking servers.

In another embodiment, bank servers 141 and 151 may also have savingsgoal module 944B so as to process the savings goal update message typewithout need for savings goal module 944A in computer server 101 totransform the message type into code readable by the bank serverswithout savings goal module 944B. In this embodiment, bank servers 141and 151 may then be able to transform the data for communicating with avariety of other bank and computer servers at other financialinstitutions and retail locations, among other computers.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosureallow the user to receive savings goal and savings goal updatenotifications by other wireless devices besides smartphone 171. The usermay also associate other devices with the source account to communicatewith savings goal module 944A in computer system 101 for receivingsavings goal and savings goal update notifications and for allowing theuser to select savings goal updates, such as a user's personal computer161, tablet 181, or smartwatch 191. Any personal wireless device capableof communicating with computer server 101 and savings goal module 944Amay be used.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, smartwatch 191 mayreceive savings goal and savings goal update notifications from savingsgoal module 944A in computer server 101 via communications module 109B.Smartwatch 191 may not have savings goal module 944B, but upon receivingthe savings goal or savings goal update notifications in communicationsmodule 109B, directly present the notifications to the user via agraphical message on the smartwatch GUI in communications module 109B,or as an audio alert through a speaker in communications module 109B insmartwatch 191. The smartwatch 191 may present any combination ofgraphical, audio, vibration, or other method of distributionnotifications alerts to a user.

Further, smartwatch 191 may allow for the user to make a savings goalupdate selection at the smartwatch touchscreen GUI 172 and thencommunicate that selection to savings goal module 944A viacommunications module 109B in smartwatch 191, or communicate withanother wireless device for the user to make a savings goal updateselection. For example, upon receiving a savings goal update selectionfrom savings goal module 944A, the smartwatch alerts the user. Then,smartwatch 191 communicates the savings goal update notification withanother wireless device of the user, such as tablet 181, which thenpresents savings goal update selection input to the user.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the savings goaland savings goal update notifications presented to the user may becommunicated in various forms. For example, after the wireless device ofthe user receives the notification, it may present the notification viavibration of the wireless device. Savings goal module 944B of thewireless device, upon receiving the savings goal and savings goal updatenotification, would send the notification signal to a motor withincommunications module 109B that activates the motor and causes vibrationwithin the wireless device. In another example, the savings goal module944B upon receiving the savings goal and savings goal updatenotification would transmit a text or image graphical alert through aGUI of the communications module 109B.

Further, savings goal module 944B may receive the user input forselection of the savings goal update through additional means. Forexample, upon presenting the user with savings goal update selectionsthrough a GUI in communications module 109B of the wireless device, theuser may select the savings goal update amount through voice activation.Savings goal module 944B may transmit the savings goal update selectioninformation to the GUI via processor 103B with corresponding voiceactivation phrases for each savings goal update, such as “five hundreddollars,” or “option A”. When the user speaks one of the voiceactivation phrases for an account, a microphone within thecommunications module 109B may detect the phrase and then send thatselection information to savings goal module 944B.

In another example, the user may select a recipient account through aGUI in the wireless device via a keyboard or mouse in communicationsmodule 109B.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that the user's mobile device may receive the savingsgoal information through a number of means. For example, in oneembodiment, the savings goal module 944B of the wireless device may havethe savings goal information stored on the mobile device in memory 115B.In this embodiment, upon receiving the savings goal or savings goalupdate notification, savings goal module 944B of the wireless devicewould then retrieve the savings goal and savings goal update informationfrom memory 115B to present the savings goal and savings goal updateselection input options to the user. In another embodiment, savings goalmodule 944B receives the savings goal and savings goal updateinformation from computer server 101 along with the savings goal orsavings goal update notification. The savings goal module 944A mayencrypt the savings goal or savings goal update information and thentransmit this information over the Internet (e.g., network 131) throughcommunications module 109A to the wireless device. Once the wirelessdevice has received the encrypted savings goal or savings goal updateinformation, savings goal module 944B then decrypts the information andsends this information to communication module 109B for presenting tothe user for selection. In a still further embodiment, the wirelessdevice may communicate directly with bank server 141 for receiving thesavings goal or savings goal update information.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, savings goalmodule 944A as part of computer system 101 may exist within a bankserver 141 or 151 of a financial institution, such that savings goalmodule 944A exists within memory 115A of bank server 141 or 151.Additional savings or additional savings method information may then betransmitted directly between bank server 141 or 151 to the user'swireless device. When savings goal module 944A in bank server 141 or 151receives the additional savings or additional savings method informationfrom the user's wireless device, savings goal module 944A throughprocessor 103 then posts the debit of the additional savings from thesource account and posts the credit of the additional savings to therecipient account in database 121A.

Alternatively, the user's wireless device may not contain savings goalmodule 944B within memory 115B. Savings goal module 944A may transmitand present both additional savings and additional savings methodnotifications, as well as receive additional savings or additionalsavings method inputs from the user through the wireless device. Savingsgoal module 944A may communicate wirelessly with communications module109B in the wireless device to directly send additional savings oradditional savings method notification signals to the user. Further,when the user makes an additional savings or additional savings methodselection, that selection may be transmitted directly fromcommunications module 109B to the computers server 101 for processing bysavings goal module 944B. In this sense, the user's wireless device isoperating as a portal for presenting and receiving additional savings oradditional savings method information from savings goal module 944Awithout requiring additional savings module 843B on the wireless device.

In one embodiment, the user may enroll in a merchant or product basedsaving method service. The savings amount may be determined by amerchant or product based savings method. The merchant or productsavings method may be based on funds saved from spending less on anon-preferred merchant or product compared to a user's preferred orhistorical purchasing behavior for analogous products or merchants. Inone example, if a user typically purchases a preferred product, such asa preferred brand and type of cup of coffee substituting that purchasefor a less expensive but similar cup of coffee would create a savingsbetween the price of preferred cup of coffee and the price from the lessexpensive cup of coffee. Those savings may be the product savingsamount. Referring to FIG. 5, The desired product may be based on userinput to computer system 101, where the user can input from a personaldevice, such as personal computer 116, tablet 181, smartphone 171, andsmartwatch 191 their preferred product purchases for a merchant productmodule 1045A in computer system 101 to compare to. In anotherembodiment, merchant product module 1045A may monitor the historicalspending behavior of the user to determine future merchant or productbased savings amount. When a user makes a purchase through POS 162 oranother device capable of making a purchase in communication withcomputer system 101, merchant product module 1045A in computer system101 may record the purchase amount and specific merchant and product,and accumulate historical spending amounts for types of products.Merchant product module 1045A in computer system 101 may also determineif the user has saved money based on comparing expenditures from onetime period to another from a particular merchant. For example, in oneembodiment, merchant product module 1045A could track monthly energycosts for heating or cooling a home to an energy company. Based onhistorical comparisons from previous months, merchant product module1045 may determine a merchant based savings amount compared to the costsfrom that month in prior years.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may enroll ina merchant or product blacklisting service. Merchant product module1045A in computer system 101 may blacklist particular merchants orproducts to force user savings by requiring less expensive alternatives.Computer system 101 may present the user with an option to enroll inmerchant or product based savings in addition to other savings methods.If the user chooses to enroll in merchant or product based savings,merchant product module 1045A may present the user with the option ofentering desired products or merchants that it wishes to blacklist. Ifthe user enters products or merchants it wants to block, merchantproduct module 1045A may blacklist those products or merchants to keepthe user from purchasing those particular products or all products fromthose blacklisted merchants from the user's source account. If the userdoes not select products or merchants it wishes to block, merchantproduct module 1045A may track historical spending and periodically sendblacklist notifications to the user suggesting products or merchants theuser may wish to blacklist to increase savings. In another embodiment ofthe present disclosure, merchant product module 1045A may trackhistorical spending and the merchant or product SKU numbers. Merchantproduct module 1045A may block certain merchants or products based onSKU numbers, or may send notifications for suggested products ormerchants to block based on SKU numbers.

FIG. 10 provides one embodiment of the merchant or product based savingsmethod. In step 1000, the debit to the source account (e.g., check cardPOS, check, and the like) is requested for authorization.

In step 1016 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, merchantproduct module 1045A may determine if the product or merchant isblacklisted by the user. If the product of merchant is blacklisted,merchant product module 1045A may proceed to cancel the debittransaction (step 1018) and a $0.00 transaction is created with ablacklist descriptor (step 1020).

In step 702, the debit transaction, may be processed.

In step 704, the debit transaction may be posted to the source account.

In step 1022 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, merchantproduct module 1045A may determine if the merchant or product SKUmatches user records. Merchant product module 1045A (via processor 103A)may search memory 115A of computer system 101 to attempt to match theSKU of the current purchase with the SKU of all previous debittransactions of the selected source account during enrollment in themerchant or product savings program. Additionally, merchant productmodule 1045A may also compare the current transaction with any selectedproducts or merchants by the user at enrollment. If merchant productmodule 1045A finds a match between the current transaction SKU and apreviously selected or historical product or merchant SKU, the merchantand product module 1045A then proceeds to step 1024. If the currentpurchase does not match user records, then merchant and product module1045A proceeds to step 1028.

In step 1024 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, wheremerchant product module 1045A has found a SKU match between the currenttransaction and previous transactions or selections by the user,merchant product module 1045A may determine if there is a merchant orproduct based savings by comparing the transaction amounts from thecurrent transaction to the previous matching SKU transactions. Ifmerchant product module 1045A determines that a merchant or productsavings does exist, merchant product module 1045A proceeds to step 1026to calculate the savings. If merchant product module 1045A determinesthat there are no merchant or product based savings, then merchantproduct module 1045A proceeds to step 1030 to determine the savingsmethod by another means.

In step 1026 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, merchantproduct module 1045A may determine the savings amount based on amerchant or product comparable savings amount.

In step 1028 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, merchantproduct module 1045A may determine if product or merchant based savingsfrom comparable historic or selected products exist where no SKU matchwas found in the users records. Merchant product module 1045A may run amatching algorithm to determine if there is a comparable product orservice in the user's transaction history stored in memory 115A fromwhich product or merchant based savings methods may be determined basedon identifying factors of the product or service that is the subject ofthe current transaction. If merchant product module 1045A does find acomparable product or service, merchant product module 1045A maydetermine there are product or merchant savings, and proceed to step1026. If merchant product module 1045A determines there is no comparableproduct, or additionally no product or merchant savings, merchantproduct module 1045A proceeds to step 1030.

In step 1030, the method of calculating the savings amount may bedetermined for transactions where a product of merchant based methoddoes not apply. In one embodiment, the savings amount may be determinedby either a round up, a discount, a whole monetary amount, a percentagebased, a “treat yourself” method, or other criterion.

In step 1032 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, merchantproduct module 1045A may determine if the product or service that is thesubject of the transaction should be recommended to the user forblacklisting. Merchant product module 1045A may search memory 115A tocompare the product or service of the current transaction to historicalcomparable transactions by the user to determine if the user may be ableto save with comparable products or services. If merchant product module1045A determines the user's savings would be enhanced by blacklistingproduct or service of the current transaction, the merchant productmodule 1045A may proceed to step 1034. If the merchant product module1045A determines the product or service should not be recommended,merchant product module 1045A proceeds to step 708.

In step 1034 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, merchantproduct module 1045A may send a blacklist recommendation notification tothe user. In one embodiment of the present disclosure, merchant productmodule 1045A may send an encrypted blacklist recommendation notificationvia a modem in communications module 109A through WAN 129 to theInternet (e.g., network 131), and finally to smartphone 171. Smartphone171 receives the blacklist recommendation notification via Internet(e.g., network 131) through communications module 109B and stores thenotification in memory 115B. Merchant product module 1045B in smartphone171, using processor 103B then initiates presenting the blacklistrecommendation notification via audio interface 222. Audio interface 222of smartphone 171 receives the notification from merchant product module1045B, and the audio interface may then converts the electricalnotification into an audible signal to the user via speakers 224 ofsmartphone 171. After receiving the audible blacklist recommendationnotification, merchant product module 1045B may then present selectioninput options for updating the user's product or merchant blacklist.Merchant product module 1045B may present the selection input optionsfor updating the user's product or merchant blacklist via touchscreenGUI 172 of communications module 109B by processor 103B of smartphone171 to provide a graphical interface for the user to make a selection.

In step 1038 and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, theproduct or merchant blacklist selection may be received. In oneembodiment of the disclosure, smartphone 171 receives the product ormerchant blacklist selection from the user. Once the user selects theproduct or merchant blacklist selections by touching the correspondingproduct or merchant blacklist input options via touchscreen GUI 172,that selection may be transmitted through communications module 109B tomerchant product module 1045B, where it is then transmitted throughcommunications module 109B to merchant product module 1045A of computerserver 101 via the Internet (e.g., network 131) and communicationsmodule 109. Upon receiving the product or merchant blacklist selection,merchant product module 1045A may then update the blacklist in database121A in step 1016.

In step 708, all merchant and product based savings, other defaultsavings, or other amounts may be aggregated. This may occur on a daily,weekly, or other time basis. By aggregating the round ups for one dailyor other selected time period for posting, exceeding account limits ofto the source account can be avoided. In one embodiment, the dailyposting may occur at the end of the day to further avoid exceedingaccount limits.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosureallow the user to receive blacklist recommendation notifications byother wireless devices besides smartphone 171. The user may alsoassociate other devices with the source account to communicate withmerchant product module 1045A in computer system 101 for receivingblacklist recommendation notification and for allowing the user toselect blacklist updates, such as a user's personal computer 161, tablet181, or smartwatch 191. Any personal wireless device capable ofcontaining merchant product module 1045B or communicating with computerserver 101 and merchant product module 1045A may be used.

Further, in another embodiment of the present disclosure and withreference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, smartphone 171 may perform allof the steps outlined in FIG. 10 in the proceeding example withoutcommunicating with a computer server 101 or merchant product module1045A. In one example of such an embodiment, smartphone 171 may interactwith a POS device 162 to try to purchase a cup of coffee at a retaillocation (such as a café) via a user's source account enrolled in themerchant or product based savings service. Upon attempting to purchase acup of coffee, the POS 162 device at the café may communicate withmerchant product module 1045B of smartphone 171 via NFC for attemptingto authorize the purchase. Merchant product module 1045B may thenidentify the identity of the cup of coffee via a product SKU numberstored in memory 115B. Merchant product module 1045B may then determineif the product SKU number is on a blacklist stored in memory 115B, andif the product SKU is on a blacklist, merchant product module 1045B maycancel the transaction and send a notification to the user alerting themto the cancelled transaction as being blacklisted. If the product SKUwas determined to not be on a blacklist, merchant product module 1045Bmay process the debit transaction and post the debit to the sourceaccount in communication with a bank server 141 or 151. Then merchantproduct module 1045B may determine the savings amount by determining ifthe product SKU matches user records for previous product or merchantbased savings transactions. If merchant product module 1045B finds amatch of product SKU, it may determine a product based savings amountfrom previous savings amounts based on the monetary amount of a moreexpensive cup of coffee at another café. If there is no product basedsavings from the match of product SKUs, merchant product module 1045Bmay then determine a savings amount based on a default method, such as around up method described in previous examples. If there was no match inthe user records for product SKU, merchant product module 1045B may thensearch user records for other cups of coffee based on a matchingalgorithm to determine if any product savings method is available. Ifthe merchant product module 1045B finds a similar cup of coffee in theuser records, and a product based savings amount applies, merchantproduct module 1045B will apply that savings technique. If merchantproduct module 1045B does not find a similar cup of coffee to apply aproduct based savings method, merchant product module 1045B may proceedto apply the default savings method and determines a round up savingsamount. Merchant product module 1045B may also determine that the usermay wish to blacklist this particular product of merchant for the cup ofcoffee to increase savings, and therefore may send a graphicalnotification such as a text message to the user recommending that theuser add this cup of coffee or café to the blacklist. Merchant productmodule 1045B may also present the user with a graphical input todetermine whether to blacklist the product or merchant. The merchantproduct module 1045B may receive the user's input to blacklist the cupof coffee product, and may add that product SKU to a blacklist file indatabase 121. Merchant product module 1045B of smartphone 171 thenproceeds to aggregate the savings amounts and to communicate withbanking servers 141 or 151 for posting those savings.

From the previous example of an embodiment of the present disclosure, itis clear that any personal mobile device capable of containing merchantproduct module 1045B and communicating with a POS device such as POS162, may be able to carry out an embodiment of the present disclosurewithout need to communicate with a computer server 101 containingmerchant product module 1045A.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, merchant productmodule 1045A at computer server 101 or merchant product module 1045B atsmartphone 171 may communicate with a server 141 that contains amatching algorithm for determining if similar product purchases by auser are similar to the current transaction for providing product ormerchant based savings. In a further example, merchant product module1045B of smartphone 171, after failing to find a product or merchant SKUmatch in the user's previous transactions, communicates the SKU withserver 141 via communications module 109B through Internet (e.g.,network 131). Server 141 may then run the matching algorithm describedin the previous example, and determine if there is a similar productbased on the user's purchase history to match to the current transactionfor determining a product based savings amount. Server 141 may thencommunicate this information to smartphone 171 for determining thesavings amount. In this way, the matching algorithm may be stored on aseparate server 141, as opposed to smartphone 171 or other personalwireless device of the user.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, merchant product module1045A or 1045B may recommend products to create product based savingsafter a purchase has occurred as described in the proceeding example.Upon a purchase by a user, merchant product module 1045B may communicatewith server 141 to run a matching algorithm to determine if there arematching products that merchant product module 1045B in smartphone 171may recommend to the user to switch to as a way to increase savings. Ifthe matching algorithm at server 141 determines that a savings match isavailable, it may communicate that match to smartphone 171 as in theproceeding example.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, a user may purchase acup of coffee with smartphone 171, and merchant product module 1045Bfails to find a product or merchant savings amount based on the user'spurchase records in memory 115B (step 1022) and also fails to find aproduct or merchant savings amount based on a matching algorithm.Merchant product module 1045B may then communicate with server 141 toinstruct server 141 to run a matching algorithm to provide matches ofsimilar products of cups of coffee that would save the user money ifalternatively purchased. Upon finding a match, server 141 wouldcommunicate that example with merchant product module 1045B ofsmartphone 171, which would provide a graphical notification to the useras to the recommendation of the alternative cup of coffee to purchase toincrease future savings.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, merchant product module1045B in smartphone 171 may identify a merchant or product identity atstep 1016 based on a location device 104 in smartphone 171. For example,upon entering a store, merchant product module 1045B via location device104 may detect the location of the smartphone as within a store anddetermine that store's merchant identity. Merchant product module 1045Bmay then compare the location derived merchant identity to the blacklist(step 1016), and may determine that attempts to authorize financialtransactions for those merchant products within that location areblacklisted.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, smartwatch 191 mayreceive blacklist recommendation notifications from merchant productmodule 1045A in computer server 101 via communications module 109B.Smartwatch 191 may not have merchant product module 1045B, but uponreceiving the blacklist recommendation notifications in communicationsmodule 109B, directly present the notifications to the user via agraphical message on the smartwatch GUI in communications module 109B,or as an audio alert through a speaker in communications module 109B insmartwatch 191. The smartwatch 191 may present any combination ofgraphical, audio, vibrational, or other method of blacklistrecommendation notifications alerts to a user.

Further, smartwatch 191 may allow for the user to make a blacklistrecommendation selection at the smartwatch touchscreen GUI 172 and thencommunicate that selection to merchant product module 1045A viacommunications module 109B in smartwatch 191, or it may communicate withanother wireless device for the user to make a product or merchantblacklist selection. For example, upon receiving a blacklistrecommendation selection from merchant product module 1045A, smartwatch191 may alert the user. Then, smartwatch 191 communicates the blacklistrecommendation notification with another wireless device of the user,such as tablet 181, which then presents the product or merchantblacklist selection input to the user.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the blacklistrecommendation notifications presented to the user may be communicatedin various forms. For example, after the wireless device of the userreceives the notification, it may present the notification via vibrationof the wireless device. Merchant product module 1045B of the wirelessdevice, upon receiving the blacklist recommendation notification, wouldsend the notification signal to a motor within communications module109B that activates the motor and causes vibration within the wirelessdevice. In another example, the merchant product module 1045B uponreceiving blacklist recommendation notification would transmit a text orimage graphical alert through a GUI of the communications module 109B.

Further, merchant product module 1045B may receive the user input forselection of the savings goal update through additional means. Forexample, upon presenting the user with blacklist recommendationselections through a GUI in communications module 109B of the wirelessdevice, the user may select the blacklist recommendation through voiceactivation. Merchant product module 1045B may transmit the blacklistrecommendation information to the GUI via processor 103B withcorresponding voice activation phrases allowing a user to selectblacklist recommendations, such as “blacklist product A”. If the userspeaks one of the voice activation phrases for an account, a microphonewithin the communications module 109B may detect the phrase and thensend that selection information to merchant product module 1045B.

In another example, the user may select a blacklist recommendationthrough a GUI in the wireless device via a keyboard or mouse incommunications module 109B.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that the user's mobile device may receive the blacklistrecommendation through a number of means. For example, in oneembodiment, merchant product module 1045B of the wireless device mayhave the blacklist recommendation information stored on the mobiledevice in memory 115B. In this embodiment, upon receiving the blacklistrecommendation notification, merchant product module 1045B of thewireless device would then retrieve the blacklist recommendationinformation from memory 115B to present the blacklist recommendationselection input options to the user. In another embodiment, merchantproduct module 1045B receives the blacklist recommendation informationfrom computer server 101 along with the blacklist recommendationnotification. The merchant product module 1045A may encrypt theblacklist recommendation information and then transmit this informationover the Internet (e.g., network 131) through communications module 109Ato the wireless device. Once the wireless device has received theencrypted blacklist recommendation information, merchant product module1045B then decrypts the information and sends this information tocommunication module 109B for presenting to the user for selection. In astill further embodiment, the wireless device may communicate directlywith bank server 141 for receiving the blacklist recommendationinformation.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, merchant productmodule 1045A as part of computer system 101 may exist within a bankserver 141 or 151 of a financial institution, such that merchant productmodule 1045A exists within memory 115A of bank server 141 or 151.Blacklisting information may then be transmitted directly between bankserver 141 or 151 to the user's wireless device. When merchant productmodule 1045A in bank server 141 or 151 receives the blacklistinformation from the user's wireless device, merchant product module1045A through processor 103 then updates the blacklist information.

Alternatively, the user's wireless device may not contain merchantproduct module 1045B within memory 115B. Merchant product module 1045Amay transmit and present blacklist recommendation notifications, as wellas receive blacklist recommendation inputs from the user through thewireless device. Merchant product module 1045A may communicatewirelessly with communications module 109B in the wireless device todirectly send blacklist recommendation notification signals to the user.Further, when the user makes a blacklist recommendation selection, thatselection may be transmitted directly from communications module 109B tothe computers server 101 for processing by merchant product module1045A. In this sense, the user's wireless device is operating as aportal for presenting and receiving blacklist recommendation informationfrom merchant product module 1045A without requiring merchant productmodule 1045B on the wireless device.

In reference to FIG. 16, in one embodiment of the present disclosure,the user is presented with an option to enroll in a frictionless savingsservice. If the user enrolls in the frictionless savings program, theuser may select a source account (step 1600), as well as a recipientaccount (step 1602). In step 1604, the user may enter user informationrequested by computer server 101, which can include the user's incomeand expenditures, family information, and personal information of theuser, such as age, health, and education, among any other relativecriterion for helping to determine the most appropriate methods forsavings. The user may then enter a savings goal for the recipientaccount (1612), and a time period for achieving the savings goal (step1614). The user may then select a savings method (step 1608).Additionally, the frictionless savings module 1146A as disclosed in FIG.5, may instead select appropriate savings methods for achieving theuser's savings goal within the proposed time frame without the userselecting a savings method. The user is then presented with terms andconditions for the frictionless savings program and finalizes theenrollment (step 1610). The frictionless savings module 1146A may alsotrack the spending and savings of the user over time, and automaticallyadjust or change the savings methods to keep the user's total savings ontrack to meet their selected goal. Frictionless savings module 1146A mayalso track the user's funds available in the source account, andautomatically adjust the savings method to maintain a sufficient levelof funds in the source account, or adjust the savings method to increasethe savings rate based on the funds in the source account. Thesufficient fund level may be determined automatically by thefrictionless savings module 1146A based on the user's additionalinformation and the server's records of historical expenditure levelsand funds in the source account. Additionally, if the funds in thesource account are above recorded fund levels, frictionless savingsmodule 1146A can adjust the savings method to increase savings.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, the frictionlesssavings module 1146A may further notify the user when the user's savingsgoal has been accomplished. Frictionless savings module 1146A may send anotification via Internet (e.g., network 131) to the users selectedwireless device for receiving updates, such as personal computer 161,tablet 181, smartphone 171, and smartwatch 181, among any other wirelessdevice able to associate with frictionless savings module 1146A.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of the frictionless savings method of thepresent disclosure. In step 700, a debit to a source account (e.g.,check card POS, check, and the like) is authorized.

In step 702, the debit transaction, such as a purchase at POS 162 usinga debit card, may be processed.

In step 704, the debit transaction may be posted to the source account.

In step 800, the daily posting transaction begins.

In step 710, a determination may be made if funds are available in thesource account. If not, the aggregated round up debit transaction may becancelled (step 718) and a $0.00 transaction is created with a no fundsin source account descriptor (step 720).

In step 1100, a determination may be made if the user has reached theirsavings goal. The frictionless savings module 1146A determines the totalsavings of the user and compares this to the savings goal of the user.If the savings have reached the user's savings goal, frictionlesssavings module 1146A cancels the aggregated savings transaction (step1102) and sends a completion notification to the user (step 1104).

In step 1104, frictionless savings module 1146A may send a completionnotification to the user. In one embodiment of the present disclosure,frictionless savings module 1146A may send a completion notification viaa modem in communications module 109A through WAN 129 to the Internet(e.g., network 131), and finally to smartphone 171. Smartphone 171receives the completion notification via Internet (e.g., network 131)through communications module 109B. Frictionless savings module 1146B insmartphone 171, using processor 103B then initiates presenting thecompletion notification via audio interface 222. Audio interface 222 ofsmartphone 171 receives the notification from frictionless savingsmodule 1146B, and the audio interface may then convert the electricalnotification into an audible signal to the user via speakers 224 ofsmartphone 171.

In step 1106, frictionless savings module 1146A may determine if theuser's savings amounts are on track to meet the user's savings goal. Iffrictionless savings module 1146A determines that the user's savings areon track, frictionless savings module 1146A proceeds to step 1110. Ifthe user's savings are determined to not be on track, then frictionlesssavings module 1146A proceeds to step 1108.

In step 1108, frictionless savings module 1146A determines analternative savings method to use as the default savings method fortransactions to meet the user defined goal.

In step 1110, frictionless savings module 1146A maintains the defaultsavings method.

In step 708, all round up or other amounts may be aggregated. This mayoccur on a daily, weekly, or other time basis. By aggregating the roundups for one daily or other selected time period for posting, exceedingaccount limits of the source account can be avoided. In one embodiment,the daily posting may occur at the end of the day to further avoidexceeding account limits.

Additionally, alternative embodiments of the present disclosure maydetermine that the user's savings as of the determination in step 1106are on track by a number of methods. In one embodiment, frictionlesssavings module 1146A may calculate the aggregate savings over a set timeperiod, such as a week, month, or other time period, and determine ifthe savings during that time period meet a certain percentage of thesavings goal correlating to the percentage of time to the savings goal.In another embodiment, frictionless savings module 1146A may determineif the user's savings are on track based on the percentage of savingsrelative to available funds.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure and with referenceto elements depicted in FIG. 5, the frictionless savings module 1146Amay determine alternative savings methods to increase savings at step1108 in a number of ways. In one embodiment, frictionless savings module1146A determines the alternative savings method based on the averageavailable funds in the source account during the tracked goal period asdetermined in step 1106. In another embodiment, frictionless savingsmodule 1146A may determine the savings method based on the savingsmethod that will complete the savings goal closest to a given timeperiod selected by the user.

Additionally, frictionless savings module 1146A may determine analternative savings method at step 1108 from a number of methods.Frictionless savings module 1146A may adopt a round up, whole monetary,percentage based, product or merchant based, discount based, or otheralternative savings methods to reach the desired goal.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosureallow the user to receive completion notifications by other wirelessdevices besides smartphone 171. The user may also associate otherdevices with the source account to communicate with frictionless savingsmodule 1146A in computer system 101 for receiving completionnotifications and for allowing the user to select blacklist updates,such as a user's personal computer 161, tablet 181, or smartwatch 191.Any personal wireless device capable of communicating with computerserver 101 and frictionless savings module 1146A may be used.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, smartwatch 191 mayreceive completion notifications from frictionless savings module 1146Ain computer server 101 via communications module 109B. Smartwatch 191may not have frictionless savings module 1146A, but upon receiving thecompletion notifications in communications module 109B, directly presentthe notifications to the user via a graphical message on the smartwatchGUI in communications module 109B, or as an audio alert through aspeaker in communications module 109B in smartwatch 191. The smartwatch191 may present any combination of graphical, audio, vibrational, orother method of completion notifications alerts to a user.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the completionnotifications presented to the user may be communicated in variousforms. For example, after the wireless device of the user receives thenotification, it may present the notification via vibration of thewireless device. Frictionless savings module 1146B of the wirelessdevice, upon receiving the completion notifications, would send thenotification signal to a motor within communications module 109B thatactivates the motor and causes vibration within the wireless device. Inanother example, the frictionless savings module 1146B upon receivingcompletion notifications would transmit a text or image graphical alertthrough a GUI of the communications module 109B.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that the user's mobile device may receive the completionnotifications through a number of means. For example, in one embodiment,frictionless savings module 1146B of the wireless device may have thecompletion notification information stored on the mobile device inmemory 115B. In this embodiment, upon receiving the completionnotification, frictionless savings module 1146B of the wireless devicewould then retrieve the completion notification information from memory115B to present the completion notification to the user. In anotherembodiment, frictionless savings module 1146B receives the completionnotifications from computer server 101. The frictionless savings module1146A may transmit the completion notifications information overInternet (e.g., network 131) through communications module 109A to thewireless device. Once the wireless device has received the completionnotifications, frictionless savings module 1146B then sends thisinformation to communication module 109B for presenting to the user forselection. In a still further embodiment, the wireless device maycommunicate directly with bank server 141 for receiving the blacklistrecommendation information.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, frictionlesssavings module 1146A as part of computer system 101 may exist within abank server 141 or 151 of a financial institution, such thatfrictionless savings module 1146A exists within memory 115A of bankserver 141 or 151. Blacklisting information may then be transmitteddirectly between bank server 141 or 151 to the user's wireless device.When frictionless savings module 1146A in bank server 141 or 151receives the completion notification from the user's wireless device,frictionless savings module 1146A through processor 103 then updates theblacklist information.

Alternatively, the user's wireless device may not contain frictionlesssavings module 1146B within memory 115B. Frictionless savings module1146A may transmit and present blacklist recommendation notifications,as well as receive blacklist recommendation inputs from the user throughthe wireless device. Frictionless savings module 1146A may communicatewirelessly with communications module 109B in the wireless device todirectly send blacklist recommendation notification signals to the user.Further, when the user makes a blacklist recommendation selection, thatselection may be transmitted directly from communications module 109B tothe computers server 101 for processing by frictionless savings module1146A. In this sense, the user's wireless device is operating as aportal for presenting and receiving blacklist recommendation informationfrom frictionless savings module 1146A without requiring frictionlesssavings module 1146B on the wireless device.

In an additional embodiment of the present disclosure, frictionlesssavings module 1146A may determine a savings method using comparisons tosavings rates for demographically similar users. For example,frictionless savings module 1146A in computer server 101 may communicatewith frictionless savings module 1146B of bank servers 151 viacommunications modules 109A and 109B through Internet (e.g., network131) to compare the user's saving rate to demographically similar userbased on their information saved in memory 115B of computer servers 151.Bank servers 151 may determine demographically similar user based on thegoals and information entered when the users enrolled in thefrictionless savings program. Upon determining demographically similarusers, bank servers 151 may send the demographically similar usersavings rate information to frictionless savings module 1146A ofcomputer server 101, which will then incorporate the demographicallysimilar savings rate into calculating a frictionless savings amount.

Further, frictionless savings module 1146A may communicate with servers141 representing social media servers, to determine a savings methodusing comparisons to savings rates for demographically similar users.For example, a user may be enrolled in social media applications andlink his frictionless savings account to his social media applications.Frictionless savings module 1146A in computer server 101 may communicatewith those social media application servers 141 to determinedemographically similar users according to the proceeding example.Frictionless savings module 1146A may then incorporate thosedemographically similar user's savings rates in calculating africtionless savings amount.

Further, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, the user mayenroll in the frictionless savings program and connect the frictionlesssavings program to a social media application for the purpose ofcomparing savings rates with those of friends who are also enrolled inthe frictionless savings program and the social media application.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may enroll in asavings and investment program. A user may select recipient investmentaccount for their savings, and select an associated investment portfoliowith the investment account from which the savings will be investedinto.

FIG. 6B is a flow diagram of the functionality performed by computersystem 101 in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosurein order to enroll a user in the savings and investment program.

In step 602, account set-up and maintenance screens/interfaces areaccessed in response to a user request to enroll in the automaticsavings program. In one embodiment, the screens/interfaces are accessedby bank personnel at a terminal locally or remotely connected tocomputer system 101. In another embodiment, a user may access thescreens/interfaces at a terminal remotely connected to computer system101 through Internet (e.g., network 131). In another embodiment, theuser may access the screens/interfaces with any wireless device capableof connecting to the computer system 101 through Internet (e.g., network131), such as ATM 163, personal computer 161, tablet 181, smartphone171, or smartwatch 191.

In step 604, the checking account that is the source of the automaticsavings amount is selected. The eligible source accounts are displayedfrom the user's profile. In other embodiments, another type of accountinstead of a checking account can be used, as long as the selectedaccount is a source of funds.

In step 606, the savings method is selected. One method may be a “roundup,” which refers to one method used to calculate a savings amount froma transaction. In one embodiment, the round up amount is an amount ofexcess funds produced by applying a rounder transaction to the amount ofa transaction such as a credit/debit card charge at POS 162. If therounder transaction rounds up to the nearest dollar, for example, apurchase made for $54.08 would generate a rounded amount of $0.92. Otherembodiments of the present disclosure may round up to a predeterminedamount besides the nearest dollar. Still further, other embodiments ofthe present disclosure may calculate the savings amount using a methodother than round up. For example, a fixed percentage can be applied toeach transaction to calculate a savings amount, or a fixed amount ofmoney (e.g., $1.20) can be considered the savings amount. The availabledebits/transaction types to be round up are displayed (step 607) and caninclude check card/debit card POS transactions, or any other types ofdebits. Examples of other debits that can be the subject of round up orother calculation of a savings amount include paper checks, electronicbill pay, electronic checks, automatic payments and Automated ClearingHouse (“ACH”) transfers.

In step 616, the recipient investment account or accounts for thesavings amount may be selected based on the displayed eligible recipientaccounts and preference option fields for the accounts can be inputted.In one embodiment, possible recipient accounts include the user's ownrecipient investment account, person-to-person transfer (e.g., agrandparent's round ups being credited to a grandchild's recipientinvestment account), and the like. In general, any recipient investmentaccount that can accept transfers can be eligible for selection. Ifmultiple recipient investment accounts are selected, the user can choosea percentage distribution for each of the recipient accounts, or anothermechanism that can be used to divide the savings amount between themultiple investment accounts or create a preference for savings betweenthe accounts.

In step 610, goals may be selected for the recipient investment accountor accounts. In one embodiment, the server may present the user with anoption to input the user's desired financial goals. To determine theuser's desired financial goals, the server may request information fromthe user regarding the user's qualitative or quantitative goals, such as“buy a car,” “pay for child's college education” or “save $2,000.” Theserver can additionally request a time frame to achieve this goal, andmay also request the user's income and expenditures, and any additionalinformation that may be relevant to ascertaining the appropriate savingsmethod for the user. A separate goal can be selected for each recipientinvestment account if multiple recipient investment accounts areselected for the program. The user may also select intermediate goalsfor a recipient investment account to help the user stay on track forreaching their goal for the recipient investment account.

In step 618, the user may select an investment portfolio to associatewith the recipient investment account for the savings to be applied to.The savings amounts that are directed into the investment account maythen be invested into the selected investment portfolio. The user mayselect multiple investment accounts, and split up the round up amountsbetween the multiple selected investment accounts. Each individualinvestment account may be associated with a separate investmentportfolio. In another embodiment of the disclosure, the investmentportfolio may be pre-defined, in which the investments of the portfoliohave been pre-selected by another individual. For example, theinvestment portfolio may be designed by an investment manager at thebank of the investment account, or another third party that provides theportfolio to the bank.

In step 612, notification services may be selected for the savingsaccounts.

In step 614, user disclosures may be presented to the user to agree tobefore enrollment.

Referring to FIG. 18, enrolling a user in a savings and investmentprogram through a GUI is shown. GUI 1800 shows an interface presented toa user with selectable inputs 1822 for selecting a portfolio. Element1816 shows display elements for the portfolio risk levels and theperformance levels of each portfolio. The user may select element 1804for entering in financial goals for the recipient account. Element 1818of the GUI 1800 shows a display element for the growth projection ofeach portfolio.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, once a user hasidentified the investment account where the round up investments willgo, the user may select a pre-defined investment portfolio from a numberof portfolio options presented to the user, and the user chooses apreferred investment portfolio based on the risk levels respectivelyindicated for the portfolio options. A pre-defined portfolio may bedesigned based on an overall risk level for the portfolio, e.g., asdetermined by an investment manager. In one embodiment, an investmentportfolio may be defined as “low risk,” “medium risk,” or “high risk.” A“low risk” portfolio may be characterized by having a relatively lowrate of return but also a relatively low risk of loss as compared to“medium risk” or “high risk” portfolios. A “medium risk” portfolio maybe characterized by having a relatively higher rate of return and arelatively higher risk of loss as compared to a “low risk” portfolio,but also by having a relatively lower rate of return and a relativelylower risk of loss as compared to a “high risk” portfolio. A “high risk”portfolio may be characterized by having a relatively higher rate ofreturn and a relatively higher risk of loss as compared to both a “lowrisk” portfolio and a “medium risk” portfolio. As an example, apre-defined investment portfolio may be designated as “low risk” byhaving an estimated rate of return of 3% and a relatively lowcorresponding risk of loss, while a “medium risk” portfolio may haveestimated rate of return of 6%, and a relatively medium correspondingrisk of loss, and a “high risk” portfolio may have estimated rate ofreturn of 10% with a relatively high corresponding risk of loss. Stillfurther, other embodiments of the present application may include ratesof return and risks of loss that vary over time with risk designations,for example, in response to changes in inflation rates. Additionally,there may be more varied levels of risk of portfolios to accommodate agreater variety of user preferences.

Additionally, after obtaining the information requested from the userregarding their goals for the investment account, computer server 101may recommend a pre-defined investment portfolio based on the user'sinformation. Computer server 101 may additionally recommend multiplepre-defined portfolios based on the selection of investment savingsmethods, which may adjust the time to reach the user's savings goal.Also, computer server 101 may present an estimate as to when any of therecommended pre-defined investment portfolios would meet the user'ssavings goal, and also present the growth projection based on theperformance of the pre-defined investment portfolio. In anotherembodiment, the server may allow the user to configure the investmentportfolios to meet their specific needs, by allowing the user to combineor edit investment portfolios. For example, a user may wish to combinetwo investment portfolios into one to create a custom risk and rewardexpectation. Still further, in another embodiment a user may wish toedit a single portfolio to create a safer or riskier portfolio than isavailable. Once a user has configured the pre-defined investmentportfolios to meet the users customized needs, the server may analyzedthis new customized portfolio and provide the user with informationregarding the estimated rate of return and risk of losses, growthprojections, and time estimates to meet the user's goals.

In another embodiment, the savings amount may be determined by adiscount method. Many retailers and companies provide discounts on goodsor services based on user membership or in coordination with the user'sfinancial institution. When a user makes a purchase from their sourceaccount, and is provided a discount by the provider of goods or servicesin affiliation with the bank of the source account, the computer system101, in communication with the retailer/provider, determines thedifference between the discounted amount and the full price. This is thediscount amount. The user is then charged the full price, with thediscount amount then being applied to the recipient account from thesource account as a savings amount. An example of this embodiment is apurchase made by a user at a grocery store. In affiliation with a bank,a grocery store chain may provide discounts for members of the bank whomake purchases at the grocery store with their bank cards. A user who isenrolled in the program may pay the “full price,” but the discountamount is actually being saved into the recipient investment accountfrom the user's source account.

FIG. 12 displays one embodiment of the discount savings method. In step700, a debit to a source account (e.g., check card POS, check, and thelike) is authorized.

In step 702, the debit transaction is processed.

In step 704, the debit transaction may be posted to the source account.

In step 800, the daily posting transaction begins.

In step 1200, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5,discount savings module 1238A in computer system 101 may determine ifthe debit transaction was a discounted transaction. Discount savingsmodule 1238A may communicate with POS device 162 via communicationmodule 109A through Internet (e.g., network 131) to determine if asavings discount was applied to the transaction.

In step 1202, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5,discount savings module 1238A may determine the discount amountassociated with the transaction. Discount savings module 1238A maycommunicate with POS device 162 via communication module 109A throughInternet (e.g., network 131) to determine the savings discount amount.Discount savings module 1238A then stores that discount amount in memory115A.

In step 1204, discount savings module 1238A compares whether thediscount savings amount is greater than the default savings method.

In step 1206, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, thesavings amount may be determined by the default savings method. In oneembodiment, this method may be a non-discount savings method thatdiscount savings module 1238A applies where there were no discounts inthe transaction, or where a discount savings method may provide fewersaving than the default method. Further, the default savings amount maybe determined by either a round up, a discount, a merchant or productbased savings, a whole monetary amount, a percentage based, a “treatyourself” method, or other criterion. The default method may be selectedby the user during enrollment in the discount savings method.

In step 708, all discount or default savings amounts, or other amounts,may be aggregated. This may occur on a daily basis. By aggregating theround ups for one daily posting, exceeding account limits of the sourceaccount can be avoided. In one embodiment, the daily posting may occurat the end of the day to further avoid exceeding account limits.

In step 1208, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5,discount savings module 1238A may determine if a merchant discountaffiliation option is available to the user to increase future savings.In one embodiment of the present invention, discount savings module1238A via communication module 109A through Internet (e.g., network 131)may communicate with a computer server 141 that is affiliated with themerchant associated with the transaction at step 700 of FIG. 12.Discount savings module 1238A may request information regarding anypossible membership or affiliation discounts that the user may enroll inwith the merchant or retailer associated with the transaction that mayincrease future savings.

In step 1210, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5,discount savings module 1238A may send a discount affiliationnotification to the user. In one embodiment of the present disclosure,discount savings module 1238A may send a discount affiliationnotification via a modem in communications module 109A through WAN 129to the Internet (e.g., network 131), and finally to smartphone 171.Smartphone 171 receives the discount affiliation notification viaInternet (e.g., network 131) through communications module 109B andstores the notification in memory 115B. Discount savings module 1238B insmartphone 171, using processor 103B then initiates presenting thediscount affiliation notification via audio interface 222. Audiointerface 222 of smartphone 171 receives the notification from discountsavings module 1238B, and the audio interface may then converts theelectrical notification into an audible signal to the user via speakers224 of smartphone 171. After receiving the audible discount affiliationnotification, discount savings module 1238B may then present discountaffiliation information and selection input options for creating theuser's merchant affiliation or membership. Discount savings module 1238Bmay present the selection input options for creating the user's merchantaffiliation or membership via touchscreen GUI 172 of communicationsmodule 109B by processor 103B of smartphone 171 to provide a graphicalinterface for the user to make a selection.

In step 1212, and with reference to elements depicted in FIG. 5, thediscount affiliation selection may be received. In one embodiment of thedisclosure, smartphone 171 receives the discount affiliation selectionfrom the user. Once the user selects the discount affiliation selectionsby touching the corresponding discount affiliation input options viatouchscreen GUI 172, that selection may be transmitted throughcommunications module 109B to discount savings module 1238B, where it isthen transmitted through communications module 109B to discount savingsmodule 1238A of computer server 101 via the Internet (e.g., network 131)and communications module 109. Upon receiving the discount affiliationselection, discount savings module 1238A may then communicate with acomputer server 141 that is affiliated with discount affiliation forcreating the user's membership or affiliation.

In step 710, a determination may be made if funds are available in thesource account. If not, the aggregated round up debit transaction may becancelled (step 718) and a $0.00 transaction is created with a no fundsin source account descriptor (step 720).

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the present disclosurewill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosureallow the user to receive discount affiliation notifications by otherwireless devices besides smartphone 171. The user may also associateother devices with the source account to communicate with discountsavings module 1238A in computer system 101 for receiving discountaffiliation notifications and for allowing the user to select discountaffiliations, such as a user's personal computer 161, tablet 181, orsmartwatch 191. Any personal wireless device capable of containingdiscount savings module 1238B or communicating with computer server 101and discount savings module 1238A may be used.

Further, in another embodiment of the present disclosure, smartphone 171may perform all of the steps outlined in FIG. 12 in the proceedingexample without communicating with a computer server 101 or discountsavings module 1238A. In one example of such an embodiment, smartphone171 may interact with a POS device 162 to try to purchase a cup ofcoffee at a café via a user's source account enrolled in the discountsavings service. Upon attempting to purchase a cup of coffee, the POS162 device at the café may communicate with discount savings module1238B of smartphone 171 via NFC for authorizing the purchase. Discountsavings module 1238B may then determine if a discount was applied to thecup of coffee via a membership affiliation between the user and themerchant. If a discount was not applied, discount savings module 1238Bmay then communicate with computer server 141 affiliated with themerchant to determine if a membership or affiliation discount exists,and if such a membership exists, discount savings module 1238B may senda notification to the user alerting them to a membership or affiliationsavings. Discount savings module 1238B may send a graphical notificationsuch as a text message to the user recommending that the user may enrollin a membership of affiliation with the merchant. Discount savingsmodule 1238B may also present the user with a graphical input todetermine whether to enroll in a membership with the merchant. Thediscount savings module 1238B may receive the user's input to enroll inthe membership. Discount savings module 1238B then communicates withcomputer server 141 affiliated with the merchant to update the user'senrollment. If there is no discount based savings from a membership ofaffiliation, discount savings module 1238B may then determine a savingsamount based on a default method, such as a round up method described inprevious examples. Discount savings module 1238B of smartphone 171 thenproceeds to aggregate the savings amounts and to communicate withbanking servers 141 or 151 for posting those savings to the recipientinvestment account.

From the previous example of an embodiment of the present disclosure, itis clear that any personal mobile device capable of containing discountsavings module 1238B and communicating with a POS 162 or computer system141 may be able to carry out an embodiment of the present disclosurewithout need to communicate with a computer server 101 containingdiscount savings module 1238A.

In one embodiment of the present disclosure and with reference toelements depicted in FIG. 5, discount savings module 1238B in smartphone171 may identify a merchant identity to enroll in a membership oraffiliation at step 1208 based on a location device 104 in smartphone171. For example, upon entering a store, discount savings module 1238Bvia location device 104 may detect the location of the smartphone aswithin a store and determine that store's merchant identity. Discountsavings module 1238B may determine if there is a membership oraffiliation available for the user to enroll in to increase savings(step 1208), and may send a discount affiliation notification to theuser.

In a further embodiment of the present disclosure, smartwatch 191 mayreceive discount affiliation notification from discount savings module1238A in computer server 101 via communications module 109B. Smartwatch191 may not have discount savings module 1238B, but upon receiving thediscount affiliation notification in communications module 109B,directly present the notifications to the user via a graphical messageon the smartwatch GUI in communications module 109B, or as an audioalert through a speaker in communications module 109B in smartwatch 191.The smartwatch 191 may present any combination of graphical, audio,vibrational, or other method of discount affiliation notification alertsto a user.

Further, smartwatch 191 may allow for the user to make a discountaffiliation selection at the smartwatch touchscreen GUI 172 and thencommunicate that selection to discount savings module 1238A viacommunications module 109B in smartwatch 191, or it may communicate withanother wireless device for the user to make a discount affiliationselection. For example, upon receiving a discount affiliation selectionfrom discount savings module 1238B, smartwatch 191 may alert the user.Then, smartwatch 191 communicates the discount affiliation notificationwith another wireless device of the user, such as tablet 181, which thenpresents the product or merchant discount affiliation selection input tothe user.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the discountaffiliation notifications presented to the user may be communicated invarious forms. For example, after the wireless device of the userreceives the notification, it may present the notification via vibrationof the wireless device. Discount savings module 1238B of the wirelessdevice, upon receiving the discount affiliation notification, would sendthe notification signal to a motor within communications module 109Bthat activates the motor and causes vibration within the wirelessdevice. In another example, the discount savings module 1238B uponreceiving discount affiliation notification would transmit a text orimage graphical alert through a GUI of the communications module 109B.

Further, discount savings module 1238B may receive the user input forselection of the discount affiliation enrollment through additionalmeans. For example, upon presenting the user with discount affiliationselections through a GUI in communications module 109B of the wirelessdevice, the user may select the discount affiliation through voiceactivation. Discount savings module 1238B may transmit the discountaffiliation information to the GUI via processor 103B with correspondingvoice activation phrases allowing a user to select discountaffiliations, such as “enroll in membership A”. If the user speaks oneof the voice activation phrases for an account, a microphone within thecommunications module 109B may detect the phrase and then send thatselection information to discount savings module 1238B.

In another example, the user may select a discount affiliationnotification through a GUI in the wireless device via a keyboard ormouse in communications module 109B.

One of ordinary skill in the art after review of the entirety disclosedherein will appreciate that the user's mobile device may receive thediscount affiliation notification through a number of means. In oneembodiment, discount savings module 1238B of the mobile device receivesthe discount affiliation notification information from computer server101 along with the discount affiliation notification. The discountsavings module 1238B may transmit this information over the Internet(e.g., network 131) through communications module 109A to the wirelessdevice. Once the wireless device has received the discount affiliationnotification, discount savings module 1238B then sends this informationto communication module 109B for presenting to the user for selection.In a still further embodiment, discount savings module 1238B of themobile device may communicate directly with merchant server 141 forreceiving the discount affiliation notification without communicatingwith computer server 101.

Alternatively, the user's wireless device may not contain discountsavings module 1238B within memory 115B. Discount savings module 1238Amay transmit and present discount affiliation notifications, as well asreceive discount affiliation inputs from the user through the wirelessdevice. Discount savings module 1238A may communicate wirelessly withcommunications module 109B in the wireless device to directly senddiscount affiliation notification signals to the user. Further, when theuser makes discount affiliation selection, that selection may betransmitted directly from communications module 109B to the computersserver 101 for processing by discount savings module 1238A. In thissense, the user's wireless device is operating as a portal forpresenting and receiving discount affiliation information from discountsavings module 1238A without requiring discount savings module 1238B onthe wireless device.

Another embodiment of the disclosure includes forms of computer-readablemedia. Computer-readable media include any available media that can beaccessed by a computing device 101. Computer-readable media may comprisenon-transitory storage media and communication media. Non-transitorystorage media include volatile and nonvolatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, object code, datastructures, program modules, or other data.

Although not required, one of ordinary skill in the art after review ofthe present disclosure will appreciate that various aspects describedherein may be embodied as a method, a data processing system, or as acomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions. Forexample, a computer-readable medium storing instructions to cause aprocessor to perform steps of a method in accordance with aspects of thedisclosure is contemplated. For example, aspects of the method stepsdisclosed herein may be executed on a processor on a computing device101. Such a processor may execute computer-executable instructionsstored on a computer-readable medium.

Aspects of the disclosure have been described in terms of illustrativeembodiments thereof. Numerous other embodiments, modifications andvariations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occurto persons of ordinary skill in the art from a review of thisdisclosure. For example, one of ordinary skill in the art after reviewof the entirety disclosed herein will appreciate that the stepsillustrated in the illustrative figures may be performed in other thanthe recited order, and that one or more steps illustrated may beoptional in accordance with aspects of the disclosure. Also, one ofordinary skill in the art after review of the entirety disclosed hereinwill appreciate that various features and aspects of the disclosure maybe combined with other features and aspects disclosed herein.

For example, one of ordinary skill in the art after review of thepresent disclosure will appreciate that a user may select to enroll inmultiple savings methods. For example, a user may decide to enroll inboth the product/merchant based savings method and also the discountmethod. In this embodiment, during a financial transaction at a retaillocation, computer sever 101 may communicate with a POS device 162 atthe retail location to determine if product or merchant based savingsexist, and additionally if a discount savings exist. Merchant productmodule 1045A may determine that a merchant or product based savingsexists. Additionally, discount savings module 1238A may also determinethat a discount savings exists. The merchant product module 1045A anddiscount savings module 1238A in computer server 101 may communicate todetermine which of the savings methods provides greater savings for theuser, and send a notification to user via the user's smartphone 171. Ina further embodiment, merchant product module 1045A and discount savingsmodule 1238A may communicate to determine if discount savings may applyin conjunction with product or merchant savings to create greatersavings than only applying a product or merchant based savings methodalone.

In another example that one of ordinary skill in the art after review ofthe present disclosure will appreciate, a user may select to enroll inmultiple notifications as well as multiple savings methods. For example,a user may select to enroll in a selective distribution service as wellas an additional savings service. In this example, selectivedistribution module 1242A in computer system 101 may determine thatsavings have met a threshold for sending a selective distributionnotification to the user at smartphone 171. In addition, additionalsavings module 843A may also determine that the user is not on track fortheir savings goal, and may send an additional savings notification inconjunction with the selective distribution notification, prompting auser to add additional savings to the selective distribution amount. Ina still further embodiment, the user may also be enrolled in the savingsgoal module, such that the user is also sent periodic savings goalnotifications from savings goal module 944A, in addition to receivingselective distribution notifications and additional savingsnotifications from selective distribution module 1242A and additionalsavings module 843A, respectively.

In another example that one of ordinary skill in the art after review ofthe present disclosure will appreciate, particular embodiments andtechnology from a savings method described may be combined withparticular embodiments and technology from a different savings method.For example, a user may be enrolled in a merchant and product savingsservice, and the savings goal service. The user's transactions fromtheir enrolled source account would be monitored by merchant productmodule 1045A for any merchant or product based savings, and the user mayalso receive periodic savings goal notifications from savings goalmodule 944A. Still further, the user may also connect their sourceaccount with social media applications used by the user, such thatsavings goal module 944A may communicate with frictionless savingsmodule 1146A of computer 101 and frictionless savings module 1146B ofbank servers 151 via communications modules 109A and 109B throughInternet (e.g., network 131) to compare the user's saving rate todemographically similar user based on their information saved in memory115B of computer servers 151. In this way, when the user receivesperiodic savings goal notifications from savings goal module 944A, thenotifications may also include a comparison of saving rates fromdemographically similar users who are connected to the user via socialmedia applications.

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a parent (e.g., acaregiver, guardian, or other authority figure) may provide a debit cardto their child (e.g., caregivee or other subordinate), but wish torestricts use of the debit card in particular scenarios. Moreover, theparent may provide their child some other instrument or device thatprovides payment for the child's discretionary purchases. Somenon-exhaustive examples of such instruments or devices are credit cards,person-to-person payment tools, debit cards, payments vehicles (such asan e-check) directly debiting against (e.g., withdrawing from) anaccount at a financial institution, and other mechanisms. In acaregiver-caregivee or parent-child relationship, the disclosed systemgrants the caregiver/parent the opportunity to approve a questionabletransaction, in real-time, before the caregivee/child can complete thepurchase at a point of sale 162 (e.g., a retail location or even anonline shopping cart).

In one embodiment, a dynamic, permissions-based networked system isdisclosed to assist in controlling spending and to encourage savings.FIG. 19 illustrates one example of a networked environment in which atechnological solution is implemented to address one or moreaforementioned shortcomings in the industry. The networked system inFIG. 19 shows innovative technological features that allow a back-endserver to identify which financial transactions require approval andwhich do not. For example, in one basic example, the system of FIG. 19may require approval for purchases over an amount threshold. In a morecomplex example, the system of FIG. 19 may permit customization andtailoring of particular rules 1904 stored at a central server 101 toidentify which transactions require approval from a caretaker or parent,and which do not require any parental approval.

As depicted in FIG. 26, a child may use any debit card or other paymentvehicle at a point of sale device 162. The transaction is submitted overa network 131 to a payment processor 1908 associated with the point ofsale device 162. The payment processor 1908 could be affiliated with afinancial institution or it may be affiliated with a payment vendor. Inany event, as illustrated in FIG. 26, the payment processor 1908 sendsthe incoming transaction, which was received from the point of saledevice 162, to a central server computer 101 for processing. In oneexample, the payment processor 1908 may forward the incoming transactionexactly as it received it from the point of sale device 162. As such,when the central server computer 101 would have access to exactly thesame data fields in the transaction message as the payment processor1908. As explained herein, the central server computer 101 includes, insome embodiments, various modules 1902, 2002, and memories 115, 121,2104 to facilitate the function and operation of the novel system.

Moreover, the aforementioned approach has the added benefit ofminimizing the need for the payment processor 1908 to modify itsprevious operation and functionality. In other words, in a heterogeneousnetwork of payment processors 1908, 1906, and point of sale devices 162,191, 171, requiring each node in the network to completely rewrite itsprogramming code would be an onerous and technologically impracticalrequirement. Rather, the technological solution offered here is to makecomputer server 101 openly available for access via the network 131.Whenever computer server 101 receives an incoming transaction from atrusted node, such as payment processor 1908, it confirms the trustedstatus by confirming the IP address of the node and/or decrypting thepayload of the incoming transaction using an encryption key. In anyevent, once the incoming transaction has arrived at the computer server101, the computer-executable computer instructions at the computerserver 101 analyze it.

The computer 101 (e.g., server farm 2102) accesses the data store 121 ofrules 1904 to determine if any rule is associated with the same sourceaccount that is the source of payment for the transaction submitted atthe point of sale device 162. As explained herein, the rules 1904 may bein the form of a lookup table, or other form of searchable data store,where each entry has associated with it a source identifier and otherparameters. If the source identifier in any of the rules 1904 matchesthat of the incoming transaction, then the other parameters of thematched rule are further evaluated. For example, the data fields of theincoming transaction storing a merchant identifier ID, a location (e.g.,GPS), dollar amount, date (e.g., day of week, month), and other fields(including one or more of those illustrated in FIG. 17) is evaluatedagainst what, if anything, the matched rule or rules instructs aboutwhat value triggers one or more actions identified in the rule. FIG. 25provides some illustrative pairings of parameters and actions that mightbe stored as rules in the data store 121. For example, if a child buyscoffee from a known merchant ID for coffeehouses, then the rule 1904 maybe setup to trigger the computer server 101 to generate a message (step2602) to the parent's smartphone 171 requesting authorization for thechild's purchase. Unlike the examples depicted in FIG. 22, FIG. 23, andFIG. 24, the point of sale device 162 does not asynchronously receiveauthorization from the payment processor 1908. Instead, the paymentprocessor 1908 will not send an authorization approval message to thepoint of sale device 162 until it receives confirmation/approval fromthe central server 101 that the parent's device 171 has approved thetransaction, as illustrated in FIG. 26.

Only after the payment processor 1908 receives an approval message fromthe central server 101 does the payment processor 1908 send anauthorization approval to the point of sale device 162. The paymentprocessor 1908 code is updated to include in serial (i.e., synchronousand not asynchronous) a call/request to the central server 101 beforeauthorizing transactions. In some examples, if no authorization isrequired, such as if the user is not under supervision, then the centralserver 101 may nearly immediately reply back with anconfirmation/approval message instead of generating a message, as instep 2602.

In addition, the system 1900 and its data store 121 of rules 1904incorporates and is robustly designed automated savings programs. Forexample, a parent may identify greater automated savings for thosetransactions of its child at particular merchants. For example, a rule1904 may state that when an incoming transaction is for a fast foodmerchant on a weekday, then the automated savings program module 1902 atserver 101 automatically generates an automated savings program (ASP)transaction and sends it to the transaction processing system 1906 atanother financial institution. The ASP transaction may comprise a debittransaction and a credit transaction instructing that financialinstitution to transfer a particular amount of funds from a checkingaccount (or other source account) and into a savings account (or otherdestination account). See FIG. 23, step 2302. In another example, ASPmodule 1902 at the server 101 may generate message packets to pass todeposit applications and credit engines at system 1906. In short, usingone or more novel features disclosed herein, a parent can store dynamicrules at data store 121 to encourage greater or normal savings levels bytheir child based on the plethora of parameters and variables describedherein.

In addition to the aforementioned caregiver-caregivee relationships, thesystem may also use a peer-based approval/filtering/regulation systemfor securing approval—e.g., at particular stores or locations or fortypes of goods. For example, before a user purchases an item, her socialmedia group of friends and colleagues might be alerted of her purchaseand are allowed to recommend ways for her to save before she completesthe purchase—e.g., when she goes to buy a new TV, friends that haverecently bought TVs or are knowledgeable about TVs might help her find abetter deal or provide her with tips before she finalizes her purchase-adifferent, yet useful form of encouraging savings. Besides encouragingsaving of money, the particular rules may be used to encourage betterbehavior among adolescents (e.g., children, adolescents) and caregivees.The better behavior may be in the form of the types of things purchased,dates when purchased are made, amount of purchases, and may further thefinancial health of the caregivees. Additional features involving thefinancial health of a user are described herein.

In one embodiment in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure,a financial health tracking device is disclosed. Analogous to a fitnesstracking device, described herein is a financial health tracking deviceworn, for example on the wrist of or carried by, a user. In one example,the financial health device may be embodied in a system for trackingfinancial health of a user, the system including: a smartwatchconfigured to be worn by the user, where the smartwatch includes asensor and an actuator; a mobile device configured to detect behavioralactivities of the user using a detection system installed on the mobiledevice; and a central server computer with an automated savings module,in network signal communication with the smartwatch and the mobiledevice; the automated savings module stores computer-executableinstructions that, when executed by a processor of the central servercomputer, causes the central server computer to perform various steps.For example, the system may include the step of receiving an incomingtransaction, from the mobile device, where the incoming transactionoriginated from the detection system of the mobile device detecting thebehavioral activities of the user. The system may also include verifyingauthenticity of the incoming transaction. The system also includesidentifying a rule in an automated savings table that matches criterionwith the incoming transaction. The system may also include generating anew financial transaction including a debit transaction from a sourceaccount of the user for a monetary amount and a credit transaction to asavings account of the user for the monetary amount. The system may alsoinclude sending the new financial transaction to a payment processingsystem to complete the debit transaction and the credit transaction. Thesystem may also include, upon confirmation of the completion of thedebit transaction and the credit transaction, generating a notificationto the smartwatch, where the notification causes the actuator of thesmartwatch to vibrate. Of course, a system of one or more computers canbe configured to perform the particular operations or actions by virtueof having software, firmware, hardware, or a combination of theminstalled on the system that in operation causes or cause the system toperform the actions. And one or more computer programs can be configuredto perform particular operations or actions by virtue of includinginstructions that, when executed by data processing apparatus, cause theapparatus to perform the actions.

In one example, the graphical user interface (FIG. 27) on theaforementioned device displays different graphic elements with variousmetrics being collected, calculated, and transmitted. In one example,the financial health feature may encourage savings by requiring the userto save X number of dollars for indulgent real world activity—forexample, if the user's device, such as a smartwatch or tablet, detectsthe user watching videos online, it tracks the number of minutes theuser watches the videos, and the user is notified that X number ofdollars were transferred into their savings from their other account assavings—i.e., punishment for the indulgence. Other examples couldinvolve calorie intake, dessert consumption, Facebook screen time, andother examples. A few illustrative examples are described below.

For example, the system 1900 includes rules 1904 in the automatedsavings table stored in memory 115. A particular rule may state thatwhen the incoming transaction has an amount of time field greater thanone hour and a message identifier field indicating social media accesstime, then to cause the central server computer to perform thegenerating of the new financial transaction. In another example, thesystem may involve a smartwatch including an activity monitor. And aparticular the rule in the automated savings table may state that whenthe incoming transaction has a number of calories field greater thanthree hundred and the message identifier field indicating exerciseactivity, then to cause the central server computer to perform thegenerating of the new financial transaction. In yet another example, thesystem may be such that the detection system of the mobile deviceincludes an image capture device. And a particular rule in the automatedsavings table indicates that when the incoming transaction has an amountof time field greater than thirty minutes and a message identifier fieldindicating video screen time, then to cause the central server computerto perform the generating of the new financial transaction. In finallyanother example, the system may be such that the detection system of themobile device includes a location detection system. And a particularrule in the automated savings table indicates that when the incomingtransaction has a location field equal to a fast food restaurant areaand a message identifier field indicating diet restrictions, then tocause the central server computer to perform the generating of the newfinancial transaction. Implementations of the described techniques mayinclude hardware, a method or process, or computer software on acomputer-accessible medium.

Referring to FIG. 28, in step 2802, a transaction may originate fromdevice 171. The device 171 may be a tablet or other electronic computingdevice configured to collect behavioral activities of the user andperform novel calculations with those values. For example, perhaps auser's biometrics might show telltale signs of impulsive purchases(e.g., heart rate and neurological changes when making an excessivepurchase) and the smartwatch might alert the users to these just beforethe point of purchase. In another example, the central server computer101 may receive transactions from a smartwatch 191 in step 2804.

The aforementioned transactions of step 2802 and step 2804, in contrastto the incoming financial transactions described in FIG. 22 and FIG. 23,is formatted with fields to accommodate behavioral activities to furthera financial health smartwatch embodiment. The transaction message type,like the query message type from FIG. 24, includes data fields thatallow for the transfer of information from the computing device 171 tothe central server computer 101. Step 2806 in FIG. 28 illustrates anotification being sent from the central server 101 to a user'ssmartwatch device 191. As illustrated in FIG. 19, the smartwatch 191 mayinclude a sensor 1906 and actuator 1907.

Although FIG. 19 illustrates a smartwatch 191, the disclosurecontemplates other user devices capable of receiving a notification ofthe type described herein. For example, an augmented reality headset orvirtual reality glasses are contemplated in FIG. 19, although notillustrated. In alternative embodiments the form factor may be otherthan a smartwatch—e.g., a GUI on a mobile phone, a virtual reality (VR)headset, an augmented reality (AR) headset that integrates the imagewith the real world, etc. FIG. 27 is an illustrative display on acomputing device, such as a smartwatch 191, implementing one or more ofthe features disclosed herein. The disclosure contemplates one or moremetrics to be displayed on the end user visual display, e.g., of asmartwatch or other device.

FIG. 19 shows an illustrative operating environment in which variousaspects of the disclosure may be implemented generally relating to aninnovative network architecture that enables the seamless connectivityof an automated savings program to an existing network of transactionalsystems. The transactional system may comprise a plurality of homogenouscomputer systems belonging to a single entity. For example, a singlefinancial institution may communicatively couple a network oftransactional systems comprising a debit network. These transactionalsystems assist in performing transactions, such as debit transactions,associated with users of the financial institution. The innovativenetwork architecture seamlessly connects to the transactional system topermit universal sign-on and/or enrollment to an automatic savingsprogram. The connectivity is seamless, in some embodiments, because anexisting transactional system might not natively include an automaticsavings program, but the innovative network architecture enables acomputer server configured with computer-executable instructions for anautomatic savings program to interface with the existing transactionalsystem. In one embodiment, the interface may be through a web servicethat integrates into an existing network of transactional system. Inanother embodiment, the interface may be through overloading of methodcalls of objects in an existing transactional system. Other methods ofintegration with existing heterogeneous computer systems are alsopossible and contemplated by this disclosure.

In another example, a network of transactional systems comprising anexisting credit payment network may communicatively couple with acomputer server configured to implement an automatic savings program.The transactional systems assists in performing credit transactionsassociated with users of the financial institution. The compute serverconfigured to implement an automatic savings program seamlessly connectsto the transactional system to permit universal sign-on and/orenrollment to an automatic savings program. See step 2202 in FIG. 22.For example, when a user pays at a retail point-of-sale (POS) device fora $77.25 purchase using a credit card, then an additional 75 cents willbe charged interest-free to her credit card, and that 75 cents is sentto her savings. Execution of such a transaction includes multiple stepsas elaborated below.

In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, the monetaryamount automatically transferred from an account holder's source accountto a recipient account in the form of savings, may be calculated basedon one or more factors. For example, under an increasing approach atransaction amount may be increased to the next highest integer value.Meanwhile, under another approach, the transferred savings amount may becalculated by decreasing the transaction amount to the previous lowestinteger value if the transaction is not already an integer dollaramount. If the transaction amount is already an integer value, underalternative embodiments in accordance with aspects of the disclosure,the transaction amount may still be decreased to the previous lowestinteger value, or alternatively, remain unchanged. The aforementionedapproach of decreasing the transaction amount may be referenced in thisdisclosure as “the decreasing approach.” The decreasing approach may beuseful in the case of a savings program based on credit cardtransactions. In another example, the savings amount may be a fixedamount (e.g., $1, $0.50, $5, and the like) per transaction. In yetanother example, the total savings amount for a period of time (e.g., ayear) may be limited to a predefined maximum amount.

In an alternative embodiment, an account holder may customize (e.g.,through an online graphical user interface) the specifics of itsautomated savings program. For example, the user may configure, ataccount enrollment and thereafter, one or more various features of theautomated savings account discussed herein including, but not limitedto, the following: the source account(s), the recipient account(s), thesavings scheme (round-up, percentage amount, predetermined dollaramount, and the like), the aggressiveness of the savings scheme (e.g.,in the case of an increasing approach, the amount of transferredsavings), charitable savings, payment of exiting loans, or savings for aspecified purchase item. For example, a user may designate theincreasing approach to use the next highest $5 denomination. As such,the amount of transferred savings amount is greater. Likewise, theaggressiveness of the transferred savings amount may be controlled forother types of monetary amounts (e.g., savings amounts) disclosed hereinand contemplated by one of skill in the art after review of the entiretydisclosed herein. Such an embodiment provides customization of thesavings program for the user account. Such a computer system may sendinformation about user preferences/settings are used by an incentiveengine and/or provided to a parameter-based rules engine (e.g., anincentive engine that accepts different parameters to customize thematching/savings aspects for a user in accordance with various aspectsof the disclosure).

While prior art credit card systems existed, but none included a nativeautomatic savings program such as described herein. Moreover, byimplementing an automatic savings program as seamlessly integrated witha network of transactional systems, there are numerous technologicalbenefits previously unrealized by prior art transaction systems. Whilethe aforementioned example refers to a credit payment network, thedisclosure is not so limited. Similarly, a financial institution maycommunicatively couple a network of transactional systems comprising adebit network, a credit network, an online billpay network, aperson-to-person payment network, a cypto-currency network, and/or anyother payment network.

Referring to FIG. 20, in other embodiments, the transactional system2000 may comprise heterogeneous computer systems 1906, 1908 belonging toa plurality of entities. The seamless connectivity of central servercomputer 101 permits universal sign-on and/or enrollment to an automaticsavings program, as illustrated in FIG. 23. The connectivity isseamless, in some embodiments, because an existing transactional systemmight not natively include an automatic savings program, but theinnovative network architecture enables a computer server configuredwith an automatic savings program to interface with the existingtransactional system. In one embodiment, the interface may be through aweb service that integrates into an existing network of transactionalsystem. In another embodiment, the interface may be through overloadingof method calls of objects in an existing transactional system.

Referring to FIG. 20, the computing device 101 may operate in anetworked environment supporting connections to one or more remotecomputing devices. In particular, FIG. 20 shows an illustrativeoperating environment incorporating an enhanced cache memory 2004 inwhich various aspects of the disclosure may be implemented. A pluralityof ASP modules 2002 may access the cache 2004 in memory to obtain fasteraccess to particular rules 1904 that were originally stored in a datastore 121. FIG. 24 illustrates that step 2404A populates a basic cache,and step 20408B populates a shared cache located at electronic component2104. At least one benefit of a cache is faster access to the data to berequested as a result of a transaction 2406. For example a query message2402 may be sent to the central server computer 101 to trigger a cache2004, 2106 update with the relevant rules from the automatic savingsprogram (ASP) table.

Meanwhile in FIG. 21, a server farm 2102 is illustrated to distributethe load across a plurality of server computers. To that end, aseparately coupled shared memory 2104 may store a shared cache 2106 thatis accessible to the server farm 2102. At least one technologicalbenefit of the configuration of FIG. 21 is that multiple servercomputers may benefit from the shared cache.

Also, one of ordinary skill in the art after review of the presentdisclosure will appreciate that various features and aspects of thedisclosure may be combined with other features and aspects disclosedherein. For example, various aspects of the numerous examples providedwith regards to debit card use may be applied to embodiments regardingcredit card use. Likewise the different matching/bonus features listedherein may be combined or substituted for other matching/bonus featuresto fully appreciate the embodiments contemplated by the entirety of thedisclosure. Additionally, different saving/notification features may becombined or substituted for other savings/notification features to fullyappreciate the embodiments contemplated by the entirety of thedisclosure.

We claim:
 1. A system for managing authorization, by a supervisory user,of financial transactions originating from a junior user comprising: amobile device configured with an application controlled by a supervisoryuser; a point of sale device at a retail location, in signalcommunication with a payment processing system comprising a processorand memory; a central server computer with an automated savings module,in signal communication with the payment processing system; and theautomated savings module stores computer-executable instructions that,when executed by a processor of the central server computer, causes thecentral server computer to perform steps comprising: receiving anincoming financial transaction, from the payment processing system,wherein the incoming financial transaction originated from the point ofsale device associated with a junior user; verifying authenticity of theincoming financial transaction; identifying a rule in an automatedsavings table that matches criterion for restricting the incomingfinancial transaction; generating an authorization notification to themobile device of the supervisory user; in response to receiving theauthorization notification at the mobile device of the supervisory user,activating a motor in the mobile device of the supervisory user to causea physical actuator to vibrate; after receiving approval through themobile device in response to sending the authorization notification,only then submitting the incoming financial transaction to the paymentprocessing system; generating a new financial transaction using thecriterion, wherein the new financial transaction comprises a debittransaction to the payment processing system for a monetary amount and acredit transaction to a payee's payment processing system for themonetary amount; and submitting the new financial transaction to thepayment processing system and the payee's payment processing system,wherein the payment processing system and the payee's payment processingsystem are operated by different financial institutions; wherein the newfinancial transaction, when processed by the processor of the paymentprocessing system and the payee's payment processing system, causes thecrediting of the monetary amount to a savings account of the junior userand the debiting of the monetary amount from a source account, whereinthe savings account and the source account are managed by aheterogeneous network.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the verifyingof the authenticity of the incoming financial transaction includesconfirming that a source of the incoming financial transactioncorresponds to the payment processing system.
 3. The system of claim 2,wherein the verifying authenticity of the incoming financial transactionimproves security of the system by: parsing the incoming financialtransaction into a plurality of fields; matching an IP address field ofthe incoming financial transaction to an IP address in the automatedsavings table; and confirming a trusted status of the incoming financialtransaction.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the verifyingauthenticity of the incoming financial transaction further comprises:parsing the incoming financial transaction into a plurality of fields;extracting an encryption key field of the incoming financialtransaction; and decrypting a source account field using the encryptionkey field.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the crediting of themonetary amount to the savings account of the junior user occurs inresponse to receiving, by the central server computer, the confirmationof successful completion by the payment processing system of the debittransaction, wherein the new financial transaction, when processed bythe payment processing system and the payee's payment processing system,causes: the crediting of the monetary amount to a savings account of thejunior user; and the debiting of the monetary amount from a sourceaccount, wherein the savings account and the source account are managedby a heterogeneous network.
 6. The system of claim 1, wherein thecentral server computer comprises computer memory segmented to include acache memory configured to store a portion of the automated savingstable, wherein the portion is less than an entirety of the automatedsavings table, and wherein the computer memory of the central servercomputer stores further computer-executable instructions that, whenexecuted by the processor, causes the central server computer to:receive a query status message from the point of sale device, whereinthe query status message includes the incoming financial transaction;and update the cache memory by storing a particular rule from theautomated savings table; wherein the central server computer completesfaster the step of identifying the rule in the automated savings tableby using the cache memory.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein theidentifying of the particular rule in the automated savings tablecomprises searching a cache memory for the rule corresponding to theincoming financial transaction before searching in the automated savingstable.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the automated savings tablestores rules comprising criteria including merchant identifiers, GPSlocations, dollar amounts, and dates, and actions corresponding to therules.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein a first rule of the rulesstored in the automated savings table indicates criteria includinglocation field matching fast food restaurant area, transaction datematching a weekday, and action resulting in rounding up to next wholedollar amount.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the savings account isat one financial institution and the source account is at anotherfinancial institution, and wherein the heterogeneous network is operatedupon by more than one financial institution.
 11. The system of claim 1,wherein the submitting the new financial transaction to theheterogeneous network comprises: submitting a debit transaction to thepayment processing system in the amount of the monetary amount; andwaiting for a confirmation from the payment processing system ofsuccessful completion of the debit transaction; in response to receivingthe confirmation of successful completion of the debit transaction bythe payment processing system, submitting a credit transaction to thepayee's payment processing system in the amount of the monetary amount.12. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer memory of the centralserver computer stores further computer-executable instructions that,when executed by the processor, causes the central server computer to:determine that the monetary amount is available in the source accountbefore attempting to debit the monetary amount from the source account.13. A method comprising: receiving, by a processor, an incomingfinancial transaction, from a payment processing system, wherein theincoming financial transaction originated from a point of sale deviceassociated with a junior user purchasing at a retail location;verifying, by the processor, authenticity of the incoming financialtransaction by confirming a source of the incoming financial transactioncorresponds to the payment processing system; identifying, by theprocessor, a rule in an automated savings table stored in computermemory, that matches criterion for restricting the incoming financialinstruction; generating, by the processor, an authorization notificationto a mobile device of a supervisory user, wherein the authorizationnotification causes the mobile device to display a graphical userinterface configured to permit the supervisory user to immediatelyapprove the incoming financial transaction; after receiving approvalthrough the mobile device in response to sending the authorizationnotification, only then submitting the incoming financial transaction tothe payment processing system; generating a new financial transactionusing the criterion, wherein the new financial transaction comprises adebit transaction to a source account of the junior user for a monetaryamount and a credit transaction to a savings account of the junior userfor the monetary amount, wherein the savings account is associated withthe payee's payment processing system, and wherein the source account isassociated with the payment processing system; and submitting the newfinancial transaction to the payment processing system and the payee'spayment processing system, wherein the payment processing system and thepayee's payment processing system are operated by different financialinstitutions.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the verifying of theauthenticity of the incoming financial transaction includes confirmingthat a source of the incoming financial transaction corresponds to thepayment processing system.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein theverifying authenticity of the incoming financial transaction furthercomprises: parsing the incoming financial transaction into a pluralityof fields; and matching an IP address field of the incoming financialtransaction to an IP address in the automated savings table.
 16. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the computer memory further comprises acache memory configured to store a portion of the automated savingstable, wherein the portion is less than an entirety of the automatedsavings table, and the method further comprising: receiving, by theprocessor, a query status message from the point of sale device, whereinthe query status message includes the incoming financial transaction;and updating, by the processor, the cache memory by storing the rulefrom the automated savings table.
 17. The method of claim 13, whereinthe automated savings table stores rules comprising criteria includingat least two of: merchant identifiers, GPS locations, dollar amounts,and dates, and actions corresponding to the rules.
 18. A non-transitorycomputer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions that,when executed by a processor, causes a server computer to: receive, bythe processor, an incoming financial transaction, from a paymentprocessing system, wherein the incoming financial transaction originatedfrom a point of sale device associated with a junior user; verify, bythe processor, authenticity of the incoming financial transaction;identify, by the processor, a rule in an automated savings table storedin computer memory, that matches criterion for restricting the incomingfinancial instruction; generate, by the processor, an authorizationnotification to a mobile device of a supervisory user; after receivingapproval through the mobile device in response to sending theauthorization notification, then submit the incoming financialtransaction to the payment processing system; generate a new financialtransaction using the criterion, wherein the new financial transactioncomprises a debit transaction to a source account of the junior user fora monetary amount and a credit transaction to a savings account of thejunior user for the monetary amount, wherein the savings account isassociated with the payee's payment processing system, and wherein thesource account is associated with the payment processing system; andsubmit the new financial transaction to the payment processing systemand the payee's payment processing system, wherein the paymentprocessing system and the payee's payment processing system are operatedby different financial institutions.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 18, further storingcomputer-executable instructions that, when executed by the computerprocessor, causes the server computer to: send the authorizationnotification to the mobile device of the supervisory user by causingactivation of a physical actuator affixed to the mobile device.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein theverifying of the authenticity of the incoming financial transactioncomprises: confirming that a source of the incoming financialtransaction corresponds to the payment processing system; parsing theincoming financial transaction into a plurality of fields; and matchingan IP address field of the incoming financial transaction to an IPaddress in the automated savings table.